Veritaserum and Shots
by JKBrimera
Summary: "Yes, Potter, a plan," Lily said coolly. "Do you know what that is?" James threw his arms behind his head casually. "Of course I do," he told her smugly. "I'm a Marauder, love. We don't just make it up as we go along, you know." "Actually," Sirius threw in helpfully, "most of the time we do." Veritaserum, shots and a love potion; what could go wrong?
1. What Are Friends For?

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling who, while I would highly enjoy being, I am not._

_A/N: I'm in the process of editing Veritaserum Shots! As of 8.06.13. the joruney to make this story readable has begun. I apologize for any spelling errors you might read in future chapters. Otherwise, please enjoy! _

o.O.o

"No way." James Potter shook his head, looking at his best friend with amusement. "Padfoot, that has more dung in it than Mundungus Fletcher. There is no way that you snogged Mary Mcdonald."

Sirius Black grinned easily from the armchair across from him. His limbs were sprawled across the armchair with the ease of a person well aware of their own charm, and his shaggy black hair and crooked tie hinted at the fact that he couldn't care less about it. He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "What can I say, mate? I'm a witch magnet. The poor girl was defenseless."

James gave a derisive snort. "Sure."

It was well past midnight in the Gryffindor Tower and, judging by the crackle of the fire in the grate coupled with his impending exhaustion, James was sure that it wouldn't be long before the clock struck one. The Marauders lay in various positions through out the common room, avoiding things like transfiguration homework with dogged determination. Crumpled bits of parchment with Remus' scrawl quickly scratched out by Sirius' quill littered the ground.

James turned towards the other Marauders with a shrewd expression. "Do you believe any of this about Sirius and Mcdonald?"

Peter Pettigrew let out a tiny squeak, obviously terrified of having to chose between his best friends. His podgy hands went immediately to his wand, as if ready to defend himself. His watery eyes darted back and forth and, coupled with the buttons that were just a little too tight around his waist, he looked the part of an anxious gnome. Sirius burst out laughing.

"You know, Wormtail," he commented good-naturedly, "I think you chose the wrong animagus altogether. It's a damn shame you couldn't have reached the knot as a hippopotamus."

Peter threw him an insulted look. His eyebrows drew together, and he chewed at a yellowing fingernail anxiously, but did not say a word. James, who was watching the scene sympathetically, decided to take pity on the boy for the sole reason that he knew exactly what Sirius was trying to do.

"Change the subject all you like, Padfoot," he told him airily. "I still don't believe any of your declarations involving Mary. That girl wouldn't go near you with a ten foot pole."

The dark-haired boy gave him a hurt look, putting on what was unmistakably a pout. For the umpteenth time, James took a moment to contemplate why all of the girls and probably some of the blokes at Hogwarts fancied his friend. What many the student population had described as 'brooding' and 'sexy' only gave James a sudden urge to laugh.

"I did too!" Sirius announced. "Tell him I did, Moony." The dark-haired boy turned hastily towards their last companion, appearing very much like an upset child appealing to their parent. Remus Lupin glanced reluctantly up from his book, raising his eyebrows slightly over the page. James noticed that he did not bookmark the page or make to set the book down.

"Sirius, to prove you snogged Mary, I would have had to be with both of you during said snog," Remus informed him. "The last time I checked, you don't invite me on such excursions." And, just as James had suspected he would, their studious friend turned promptly back to his novel in the classic move of a parent ignoring their whiney child. Sirius looked understandably put-out.

"Oh, yeah." He was momentarily stumped. Then, suddenly, he brightened. "Still, it was a good snog. Do you reckon she'd give me another?"

"How about you just prove it so the rest of us can get on with our lives, yeah?" James suggested dryly.

Sirius remained unfazed. "How am I to do that?" he demanded. "It's not like I carry a pensieve around with me. Are you trained in legilimency?"

For a moment, he looked so hopeful that James had secretly been mastering legilimency at night that James felt a little bad for spoiling his hope. But James, although rather bright and a brilliant student when it came down to it, was never very dedicated to his schoolwork. And he figured that as his best mate, Sirius ought to have suspected as much by now. "Of course not. But I have another solution."

Sirius arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Oh?" Peter echoed, struggling to copy Sirius' expression.

James was unable to stop a wide grin from splitting his face. "Yeah."

Somewhere to his left, he heard Remus give a groan. There was the rustle of pages as Remus bookmarked his page with a ribbon, avoiding dog-earring the page, before setting the book down gently. "James," he reprimanded. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" James opened his mouth to answer, but was quickly interrupted.

"Yes!" Sirius announced, jumping up and punching the air. James could already see in his friend's eyes that he had caught on to the idea and whole-heartedly approved, just as James had known he would. "Prongs, you're brilliant. I'll be back in less than twenty."

James watched with amusement as the dark-haired boy ran out of the tower at full tilt, slamming the portrait hole door shut behind him. The Fat Lady could be heard yelling obscenities after him, startling several nearby portraits that frowned in disapproval. James grinned.

"What's he doing?" Peter looked cluelessly from one boy to the other. "I still don't get it."

His dull blue eyes were round with innocent curiosity, although his hands were knitted fearfully in his lap. Even though he undoubtedly was telling the truth about not knowing what their plans were, Peter had been in on enough mad stunts to understand exactly what he was getting himself into. James looked to Remus, who shook his head. Judging from the disapproving expression on his friend's face, James figured he was in charge of explaining the concept to Peter unless he wanted a version saturated with mock excitement.

"Veritaserum, Wormtail." James stood lazily, pulling a table and four chairs into the center of the room. With a flick of his wand, he conjured small drinking glasses, his motions automatic and well-rehearsed. Peter gave him a confused look.

"Verita-what?"

James couldn't help but covertly roll his eyes. They had covered the subject for a month in sixth year, and while he himself was not exactly one to judge others for not paying attention in class, he was certain that Peter had slept through it all. James next used his wand to arrange the furniture, ignoring the accusatory look that Remus shot him, likely worried that the floors would be scratched.

"Veritaserum," James repeated. "Wizard truth telling potion and, when mixed with strong alcohol, possibly the best concoction of the face of the earth. The combination forms the greatest, most sacred game known to the wizarding world and mankind everywhere: answer-the-question-or-you-have-to-do-what-we-tell -you."

He could feel Remus' eyes practically burning a hole into the back of his head, clearly believing that James was corrupting Peter. It was a wonder that Remus believed that there was anything left to corrupt after all of their years devising trouble together. Still, James was certain that if he turned around, Remus would have been frothing at the mouth, too.

Peter still looked confused. "It's not actually called that, is it?"

"It's too sacred for a name," James told him sagely. "You can only refer to it in descriptions, or else refer to it as _the game_." Peter looked awestruck. Remus, on the other hand, looked as if he would very much like to hit James over the head with his book, and so James plowed on quickly. "Anyways, it's like the wizarding version of truth or dare, only you get your question first and you have to answer honestly due to the whole Veritaserum issue." He gestured vaguely to the table he had set up. Peter glanced at it with wide eyes.

"What if you don't want to answer?" he asked nervously, chewing vigorously once more on a fingernail. "How do you get out of it?"

James grinned. "You don't. You have to answer the question, unless you want to be dared to do something. And don't think you can get out of that either," he continued, already noting the shifty look on his friend's face, "because there's an enchantment on the shot glasses that force you to go through with it."

"Not that Sirius and James would ever let us hear the end of it otherwise," Remus muttered, speaking for the first time since the idea had been brought up. He had risen to his feet, wisely moving his book far away from the makeshift table in the center of the room. James raised an eyebrow.

"Are you conceding, Moony?"

"You know," Remus said thoughtfully, "I honestly reckon I'd rather eat a bubotuber slug."

Peter, who still looked terrified by the whole ordeal, raised a nervous hand. "Er, what happens if we don't do it?" he asked hesitantly. "What if we just ignore the dare?"

James stopped mid-swish of his wand, causing the chair he had been moving to collide with the tiny table. He tried to think of a time that someone had actually tried to escape a dare, but failed. He had watched Sirius eagerly strip naked, jump off castle towers on to brooms, and jump into the black lake in ridiculously cold temperatures. Of course, half of those things had been voluntary, but James still could not remember anyone having ever broken a dare. And so he shrugged. "It's like an unbreakable vow, I guess. Nobody knows what really happens, but it's never broken. You just... don't break it."

Peter stared at him in what could only be described as pure terror. "As fun as it sounds, I'm not entirely sold on the whole idea."

"Don't worry, Peter," he advised him cheerfully, clapping him on the shoulder. "Soon you'll be so drunk you won't remember what you were worried about in the first place."

"Until you wake up stark naked in the Great Hall," Remus added helpfully, moving to sit wearily in one of the chairs. "Then you remember exactly what happened, often in much more detail than you would like." Peter looked alarmed, his eyes bugging to an unnatural size.

"Is it safe? Can you mix alcohol and veritaserum?"

"You can mix anything, so long as you have the stomach for it." Sirius grinned as he eased back through the portrait hole. In his arms, he clutched two small bottles of clear liquid protectively, accompanied by several bottles of amber liquid. His arms were also ladled with what looked like several types of firewhiskey. James raised his eyebrows at his friend, who grinned. "I brought extra stuff in case we needed more to knock you and I out. Knicked 'em out of the hiding place on the fourth floor."

"Oh, yeah." James nodded appreciatively. "I forgot about that."

"I never _heard_ about it," Remus said in an affronted tone.

Sirius had the good grace to look embarrassed. He set the bottles on the table, shrugging apologetically at the fourth Marauder. "It was where we stashed the animagus textbooks. You never really needed to know."

"But- this is the Veritaserum?" Peter asked. He was inspecting each bottle with rapt concentration, his forehead creasing with strain. James nodded in confirmation, as did Sirius. Peter, if possible, looked further confused. "But it's clear!"

There was a pause. Then, all three Marauders broke out into spontaneous applause, although James reckoned that he and Sirius had intended theirs' to be sarcastic whereas Remus was likely honestly impressed. Sirius grinned, thumping Peter hard on the back. "Congratulations, Wormtail! I didn't know you had learned to tell colours!"

Peter flushed. "I only meant that the clear potions are stronger then most," he clarified, his tone taking on a defensive nature. "I do pay attention in potions sometimes, you know. Slughorn said that when mixed with other things, clear liquids become doubly potent in nature. This stuff will have us dizzy within minutes."

Remus nodded, looking even more impressed by their friend's sudden wealth of knowledge. "That's what the game's based off of. The more alcohol the drinker takes in, the drunker they get and the more effective the Veritaserum becomes. It's a vicious cycle, mate, which is exactly why I say that we-"

"You're going to love it, Wormtail," Sirius interrupted. He lay a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder while shooting Remus a hard look. He steered the smaller boy into a seat roughly, taking the one adjacent. James quickly sat as well, followed by a reluctant Remus. Sirius arranged the bottles in front of them appropriately with mounting anticipation. "It's the world's most exciting, wonderful, fantastic, exhilarating_-_"

"And _inappropriate_ game ever."

Lily Evans stood casually in the doorway, watching the unfolding scene with a deliberately even expression. Her red hair spilled over one shoulder, catching the firelight and entwining with the evening light so that it was difficult to tell where one stopped and the other began. She clutched a wand in one hand and her jacket in the other, looking as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be out for a stroll at one in the morning. The faint scent of perfume wafted off of her, making his head spin a little. It was a pleasant smell, but one that Lily only wore on dates.

James hadn't been her date.

Nevertheless, he still felt his heart rate speed up as they locked eyes. Merlin, he hated how much he loved those eyes. He could have described how they looked even in the dark; a darker green in the center and around the edges gave way to the lighter parts in the middle, creating a sort of striking symmetry. The bottle greens and forest jades interlaced in a sort of interweaving pattern, competing with flecks of gold. Eyelashes, thick and smoky black, blinked back innocently at him.

Sirius appeared to be the first one to recover his voice and, with obvious strain, he tried to smile. "Lily, darling." He scooted forward casually, trying to covertly hide as many bottles with his arms as possible. "How absolutely delightful to see you! Please, don't let us keep you. You should continue right on your way to bed. In fact, why you aren't already _in _bed-"

"Don't bullshit me, Black." James was momentarily surprised at the edge in her voice and so, evidently, was Sirius, because he stopped talking immediately. Lily's eyes flickered shut briefly, and she collapsed into a nearby chair, throwing her jacket on to the ground by her feet. "It's been a long evening."

For the first time, James noticed the hollow shadows beneath her eyes, and the way that she rubbed at her feet, as if she had walked for miles. She looked bone-weary exhausted, he thought distantly, the sort of tired when you're too exhausted to even sleep. The Marauders exchanged hasty looks as Lily continued to stare into the flames, showing no sign of movement. The boys sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Sirius cleared his throat.

"So, Evans..." He kept his voice casual, although in James' personal opinion, with Lily it was better to just jump straight to the point. Nevertheless, he let his friend try. "Not to sound rude or anything, but are you planning on leaving anytime soon?"

Remus shot Sirius a disapproving look. "It's not that we don't want you around-"

"Which we don't," the dark-haired boy said helpfully.

"-but we're quite worried about your lack of sleep," Remus said, ignoring his friend completely. He gave Lily a pained look. "As a fellow prefect, I can understand that you need a lot of rest before patrol shifts."

James had no doubt that Remus, a prefect, was less concerned about Lily's sleeping patterns and more embarrassed at having been caught with alcohol at one in the morning in the middle of the common room. But Lily ignored them once more, staring into the fire as if it held all the secrets to the world. There was a brief couple moments of silence. And, just when James had given up hope of her ever speaking again, Lily lifted her chin and turned to face them. "I know what you four are up to and, as Head Girl, it's my duty to report it."

There was another moment of tense silence. James and Sirius exchanged identical looks of mild concern, James mentally calculating the number of detentions he could have before the end of the year. He had no doubt that Sirius was doing the same. Then, just as he opened his mouth to speak-

"Three," Remus corrected absently. "Not the four of you. The three of you." The Marauders turned incredulous expressions towards him. Remus cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, I'm not included in this. I'm not going to take the fall for it."

"Traitor," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"So report us, then." James was surprised to hear his own voice, low and intense. "Trust me when I say that it will be more trouble than it's worth. I wouldn't fancy waking McGonagall at this hour. She may have some dreadful hair curlers in."

Lily gave him a fierce look, her tiny hands balling into fists. For just a moment, they locked eyes, and James was once more distracted by the array of beautiful greens staring angrily back at him. He had seen it a thousand times before, and he was certain that he would see it a hundred times again.

Then, Lily seemed to deflate. She curled in on herself like a balloon loosing air, crumpling into her chair. For a long time, she just sat there, no longer staring at the fire but not moving either. And just when James thought that she was going to make a hasty retreat up the stairs, Lily did something that completely blindsided him. And not much blindsided James Potter.

"I want in."

Four pairs of amazed eyes swiveled towards the Head Girl. "Pardon?" James said politely, quite certain that he had heard wrong. Lily repeated herself. Sirius was gaping at her wordlessly, and Remus had turned an odd purple color.

"But- you're _head girl_-"

Lily tossed her red hair behind her. "Look here, Remus," she said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You seem like a really nice person. In fact, I've done rounds with you, and so I know that you are a lovely, intelligent sort of human being. But the thing is, my day has gone from bad to worse." She drew a breath, although if it was supposed to calm her, it seemed to have just the opposite effect. "First, you see, I had to skip breakfast because I overslept due to the fact that my roommate forgot to take the silencing charm off of my alarm clock. Breakfast was pancakes. I _love _pancakes. And if you thought that my best friend might remember something like that, then you're wrong, because she was too caught up in telling me how fit Sirius Black is! And _then_, as if both of those weren't enough punishment for one day, I had to sit through a date where I wanted nothing more than to Cruciartus curse myself the entire night. So, for the love of Merlin, will you just shut-up about being a prefect for one second and just _pour me a shot_."

The four boys sat in a stunned silence, looking at the redhead in amazement. James found that he couldn't form coherent thoughts. Everything that he knew about Lily Evans had suddenly become contradictory, and he wondered if she wasn't a sort of contradiction in herself. Lily was out of breath from her rant, and two red patches had appeared on her cheekbones. She surveyed them all with glittering eyes.

"Well?" she demanded. "Am I playing alone, or will you cease your gaping and join me?"

That seemed to shock Sirius out of his stupor once more. A wide grin split his face, and he positively threw his drinking glass at her, eagerly pushing it across the table. "I think I'm in love," he announced. "One shot please, Lily, darling."

"Coming right up." The redhead wielded the bottle expertly, pouring an unreasonable amount of clear liquid into the small cup. This was followed by an equally ridiculous amount of firewhiskey. She raised an eyebrow in James' direction. "Potter?"

"Yeah, me too. Thanks." His voice came out hoarser than usual, and he cleared his throat, watching in disbelief as Lily took out a second cup without so much as batting an eye.

"Me too," Peter added, choosing a glass at random and shoving it towards Lily. She smiled at him, pouring a hefty amount of liquid into that cup as well. She turned to face Remus as she topped off the last glass, smiling very smugly.

"And you, Remus?"

"I'm a prefect." It sounded more like a question than a statement, and James could tell that Lily Evans knew it. Her face turned smug as she undoubtedly sensed a victory, leaning forward to draw another glass slowly towards her. Remus had gone an odd sort of green color, and Lily smiled sweetly at him.

"Then, as your head girl, I order you to take part."

James couldn't help but grin himself. Lily's enthusiasm was positively infectious. "Moony, you have just been bested by Lily Evans. Concede before you embarrass yourself."

Remus looked morosely at the clear vial of veritaserum before giving a jerky nod at the glass Lily was holding. His gaze fell moodily to the table, and he studied the wood of it with the look of one surveying his last view. James mentally counted the number of people in comparison to the amount of alcohol. A perfect match; Sirius had been wise to bring the extra supplies.

"That's all of us," James said, pleased. He could feel the magical oath kick into effect, thrumming against his skin with a sort of anxious energy. It was neither pleasant or unpleasant; it simply tickled his skin the way water did in the shower, sliding over his arms and upper torso with a warm sort of glow. Peter looked up, startled, and James guessed that the others could feel it as well.

"I'll start." He watched as everyone hastily lifted their cup to their lips and took a draught. He waited for a moment before nodding in satisfaction. Raising his own to his mouth, he took a quick gulp himself before setting the cup back down. His gaze quickly darted to Sirius, who was waiting in anticipation. "Padfoot, was it you that broke my broom last week?"

His friend gave a guilty start. "That wasn't what you were supposed to ask me! What about Mary? Don't you want to know about our great love?"

"Bloody hell!" Lily gave Sirius a bemused look. "So she wasn't lying about snogging you after all, then?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's not your turn to ask the questions."

"You prat." Lily threw a nearby bit of parchment with Remus' scribbles on it at Sirius' head, and James watched in amusement as it collided with his chin. "You're the reason that I missed the pancakes, you know."

Sirius waved his hand impatiently. "Details, details. Now, Prongs, do you want to know about Mary or not?"

"Not particularly," James told him. "But I would like to know about that broom. Unless you want to stand up on the Gryffindor table tomorrow at breakfast and sing an originally composed ballad for Mary, of course." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "That might win her over, mate."

Sirius sighed, gritting his teeth. His expression was one of extreme pain. "Yes, I broke the damn broom," he admitted, ignoring laughter from the other three. "I'll buy you a new one." He smiled sheepishly before turning to Remus. "And now for Moony."

Remus immediately stopped laughing. "Oh, bugger."

"Tell us," Sirius said delightedly. "Have you done the deed yet?"

"The deed?" Remus echoed, looking increasingly nervous. "Like my Transfiguration homework? Or my assignment on Gildyroot for-"

"I meant wand in the hole," Sirius said abruptly, not a trace of embarrassment in his voice. Seeing Remus' look of purposeful confusion, he continued on loudly. "Stripped a garden of flowers? Ventured down the tunnel? Put your broomstick through the hoops-"

"Yes, I think I've got it now, Padfoot," Remus interrupted quickly, his face a vibrant shade of red. "Thank-you for your many elaborate and well-thought out metaphors."

Sirius shrugged. "My pleasure. Now, have you?"

Remus fidgeted minutely with his tie. "Uh-" He glanced quickly at Lily, evidently embarrassed. "Well, sort of."

"Sort of?" James demanded. His friend's quick glance at Lily had not been lost on him, and multiple disturbing scenarios involving late nights patrolling together were already formulating in his head. "What do you mean, sort of?" Remus' face continued to grow steadily more red until he resembled a rather large tomato. Sirius was grinning ear to ear.

"Good Merlin, Moony got lucky!"

"Quiet!" Remus hissed, looking around as if someone might overhear. Nearby, Lily had tears in her eyes from laughing. "So it happened. Are you really all that surprised?"

"Yeah, actually, we are," Sirius said truthfully, still grinning. "Agrippa, Moony. Who was it?"

Remus shook his head. "That wasn't part of the question."

Sirius gave a shout of protest. "We should have thought to ask!" He turned to glare accusingly at the other three, as if it was their fault for not interrupting him sooner. James shrugged.

"We'll get it out of him later," he said confidently. "In the mean time..." He gestured for Remus to continue the interrogation. Remus did so just a little too eagerly, his eyes narrowing with something that made James shrink back just a little.

"So, Peter…"

o.O.o

As was such with drinking games, James found out more in the next hour about the people sitting beside him than he had ever really cared to know.

Sirius had indeed kissed Mary Mcdonald, several times, in fact, often enough that James wondered how exactly he had missed this development. Who Remus had finally decided was worthy of his commitment was still yet to be determined, although James did learn that his friend truly was a genius. Whether it was charms homework or drinking games, Remus Lupin always won.

James, much to his chagrin, had also learned that those PlayWitch magazines they had found a couple days ago did in fact belong to Peter, and that Remus, who was looking very guilty at his own admission, had heard quite an interesting conversation between professors Flitwick and Sinistra that James was rather appalled at.

"James?"

Lily shook him out of his stupor, nudging him with her shoulder. Her face was flushed with one drink too many, and the veritaserum had left her eyes with an odd, glazed look. She snapped her fingers sloppily in front of his face, swaying slightly. "Are you listening?"

James nodded, grinning at her easily. Lily's answers had been fairly standard to what James had expected; straight-laced, average, mundane answers. And yet, James had been delighted to learn that Lily wore only cotton and silk bras, but did own one in red lace (That information had used up several questions to obtain). Lily also revealed that she had been out on an awful date with Amos Diggory, and had only just managed to escape before running into the boys. She also admitted (with much eye rolling and very undignified, emasculate giggling from the boys) that this was the most fun thing she had done this week.

James was trying his best not to be too pleased about that last bit.

"James Potter!" She slapped him lightly on the elbow this time. "I was saying it's _your_ turn." James could feel his skin tingling where she had touched him, and considered telling her for a moment before promptly forgetting what he had been about to say. He shrugged it off easily.

"Alright." He surveyed the room, squinting to try and settle his vision. "I pick Moony!"

His friend looked up from where he lay on the floor, too drunk to be sitting fully upright without tipping over. James wasn't all that surprised; Remus had drank more than both Sirius and James put together and, coupled with the fact that experience was not something he had going for him, it only made sense that he was the one on the floor. As a result, Remus had been rather out of it for the last half an hour, muttering occasionally about how the stars were spinning and the value of hippogriff dust. James had never seen his friend so drunk before, and sincerely hoped he would never forget it.

Unfortunately, the truth was that he would most likely be forgetting most of it tomorrow morning.

"Yeah?" Remus slurred.

James thought for only a second. "Worst grade you've ever gotten."

Sirius gave a derisive cackle, righting himself with great effort in order to better hear. Remus let out a moan of despair, closing his eyes as if it pained him to answer, or else look at the light. Both, likely.

"Come on," Lily prompted. "It's better then a dare." James reckoned she couldn't comfort him much further while on the Veritaserum.

Remus let out a bark of laughter, groaning again. "You know that paper last week I said I aced?"

James nodded, watching the others do the same. Peter looked at Remus expectantly, clearly thinking that an E wasn't so bad.

"I got a T," Remus confessed in a rush, grimacing as the others doubled up in laughter. Sirius had legitimate tears in his eyes. "It's not funny!" He protested, shaking his finger with great effort from his position on the floor. "And if I wasn't so drunk I would have never told you."

"S'okay Remus," James consoled his friend, hiccuping slightly. "None of us will remember anyways in the morning."

Remus slumped back in relief, closing his eyes again. "Neither will I," he informed him sadly. James grinned.

"It's your turn, Moony." He half-heartedly took another shot, his desire for more alcohol battling the last of his common sense. He stabbed a sloppy finger in Remus' direction. "Go on and ask Sirius something. He needs a good interrogation on that locket he keeps under his pillow."

The dark-haired boy scowled at him, but wisely chose not to speak. Remus just shook his head, looking thoughtful. "No," he said slowly, tripping over his words slightly in the effort to speak clearly, "I think that it's your turn."

James gave a small gulp, eyeing his friend with apprehension. Whereas Sirius had a stock number of questions that James could anticipate with ease, Remus's questions were usually quite personal due to the fact that his friend was really quite smart. Sure enough, the boy on the floor gave him a wicked smile before asking rather loudly and clearly, "Are you in love with Lily Evans?"

The room went dead silent. Only the crackle of the dying embers made any sound, popping ominously in the grate. Four heads snapped towards him, each carrying a different expression. Sirius looked eager, Peter sympathetic, Remus curious. Lily...

Well, she looked like she always did. Curious, with an undertone of caution.

"Er-" James desperately searched his alcohol-ridden brain for a way around the question. Did he love her? Well, he could find out by trying to articulate a response and see if it was true. But he didn't really want to know. And if he did, this wasn't the way he would want Lily to find out.

"I choose a dare," he said firmly. Four jaws dropped, along with a possible fifth. It was as if the words had jumped from his mouth of their own accord, clumsy in their eagerness to shelter him from harm. But it was too late; the other three boys exchanged rapid looks of glee.

"All right!" Remus crowed, elated. "I dare you too-"

"Kiss McGonagall!" shouted Sirius.

"Eat a Pixie!" Peter called.

Remus stared with a mixture of disgust and horror at the pair of them. For a moment, his expression was so commonplace that James would have sworn that he hadn't been drinking at all. Remus wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Peter, that could kill him. And Sirius, you can't be serious?"

The dark-haired boy shrugged. "That's my name."

"Oh, for the love of-"

"Alright, no pixies." Peter had the good grace to look embarrassed. "\What else can he do?"

James waited with bated breath as his three friends thought. He couldn't help but watch Lily out of the corner of his eye. The red-headed witch had been awfully quiet since the question of his love had arisen, and he was certain that the alcohol had nothing to do with it.

"How about Lily chooses?"

Once again, it was as if a puppet had taken over him, spitting out sentences without his consent. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and, embarrassed, he turned towards Sirius who was wearing a surprisingly thoughtful expression. The boy stroked his chin before giving a slow nod.

"That could work," he admitted. "I agree with James. Shoot, Lily."

The redhead gave a start of surprise. "Me? Why am I choosing?"

"Yeah," Peter echoed, obviously ruffled by his own disclusion, "why is she choosing?"

"Because I said so," James declared, more to annoy Peter than anything else. He was still personally dreading Lily's decision, but his hazy brain was shortly drawing the conclusion that he had little say in the matter. Sirius was studying James with a surprisingly thoughtful expression.

"Why did you say so?"

James was spared an answer by a sudden interruption in the form of Remus. The other boy sat up, punching a fist in the air. He swayed slightly, but managed to stay sitting upright, his hair skewed around his head lin a giant cloud of dusty browns. "I've got it! It would be such a brilliant idea if I could just… but yes, I think I could. Of course, that part might get tricky… but on the other hand…"

Sirius made an impatient noise, crossing his arms in a huff. "Don't worry about us over here in the dark," he snorted. "Just because we can't all ace our potions exams-"

"A _love_ potion!" Remus exclaimed, interrupting him. "That's what we'll do!"

"We'll do what?" James spluttered, standing up so fast that he had to catch a nearby curtain to keep himself steady. Lily had a similar look on her face, although she had the good sense to remain sitting.

"A love potion!" echoed Sirius, rubbing his hands together. "Excellent." He turned to the boy, looking impressed. "That's why you're the smart one."

Remus looked almost pleased with himself.

"I still don't get it!" Peter complained, although he sounded more confused than upset. Sirius opened his mouth as if to explain, before realizing that he couldn't form coherent sentences. He shrugged, glancing over at Remus.

"Go on and tell them, Moony."

"Here's how it'll work." Remus leaned forward conspiratorially, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Sirius will knick us a love potion from the dungeon tomorrow-"

"Done!" the dark-haired boy crowed, his voice smug. "Slughorn loves me."

"Then," said Remus, gaining enthusiasm, "tomorrow at lunch, James will drink it. And he'll be looking at..."

"Lily Evans!" The three boys chimed, each face lighting up with the idea of a good prank. James made a sort of choking noise at the back of his throat. He looked beside him to see Lily making much the same expression, her forehead scrunched up in horror.

"What?" the red-head spluttered, turning to glare at Remus. "He will _not_."

"Oh, he will," Rmue said calmly.

James wasn't sure how he was feeling about all of this yet. On one hand, he certainly did want to have an excuse to kiss Lily Evans, and if pinning it on a love potion was acceptable, then he was thrilled. On the other, under no circumstances did James want to attack Lily with his tongue. He could begin to feel the rolls he had eaten for supper moving uncomfortably in his stomach, and he hoped that he wouldn't retch in front of Lily.

"But wait!" Sirius cried, thrusting a finger up into the air. "There's more!"

James let out a very long sigh. "There's more?"

"Of course." Sirius sat back down. "Because you have to give Lily one too."

"Excuse me?" James demanded. Sirius nodded angelically.

"Right, Moony?"

"Right," Remus agreed, his words slurred as he lay down again once more. His face was split into a goofy smile and, if it wasn't at the expense of James' fortune, he might have been relieved to see it. "And you can't give up until she takes it and looks at you."

"When hell freezes over, then," Lily muttered. Peter, who would normally be chattering nervously, still had a big, sloppy grin on his face, beads of sweat clinging to his temple and dampening his hair. Just looking at the state of him made James' stomach turn once more. James decided he really hated alcohol; if this was bad now, he couldn't imagine how he would feel tomorrow morning.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked in a flat tone, searching all of their faces for any hint of humor. They all wore ironically sober expressions. Sirius shook his head.

"Afraid not, mate. But it'll wear off in about a week, give or take."

His voice was so reassuring, so calming, that James almost missed his words altogether, trading them in favor of sleep. Lily, on the other hand, appeared to suffer no such delusions. "A week?" she demanded, glaring at the dark-haired boy. "That's a week too long! What are you prats going to do while we gallivant around being all affectionate, hmm?"

James was surprised that she was still so eloquent after her mass intake of alcohol. Remus cocked his head, considering the red-heads words. "Laugh, probably. Sirius and I will make bets whether James can get into your knickers or not."

And that was when James decided he had had enough. Growling, he launched himself at the other boy, successfully upending bottles from the table on his way to the ground. Cheers sounded up from both Sirius and Peter, egging him on. And Lily-

It took James a moment to realize that Lily was helping him, poking Remus repeatedly with her wand. She seemed to be doing as much damage as she possibly could without leaving any visible physical marks that teachers might find, stabbing him viciously in the thigh and the stomach. James might have teared up a little if he wasn't so busy pounding Remus into hamburger meat.

When the rage had finally left him, James slumped backwards, slightly appalled at himself. His hands were slick with sweat, and he was breathing rather heavily. Lily's face mirrored his own. She guiltily bit her lip, restoring her wand to her pocket hastily.

"Remus?" She leaned forward timidly over the lifeless body, her hands fluttering anxiously over his still chest. "Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry. Are you awake? Are you alright? I have no idea what's wrong with me."

Finally, after a few tense seconds of pause, Remus let out a long groan. James recognized it as laughter.

"That was _so much fun_!" he slurred, his eyelids fluttering open. A stupid grin plastered itself over his face, and his cheeks were flushed a ruddy red. "Let's do it again!"

It took a lot of self-restraint for James not to hit his head on the nearest armchair.

Fun, indeed.

o.O.o


	2. Lovely Love Potions

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling_

o.O.o

"James?"

"Don't," James said sharply, spooning more eggs onto his plate. The greying yellows of the yolk looked mournfully back at him, a sleepy eye amidst the bright splashes of ketchup. Remus cleared his throat awkwardly, leaning forward across the breakfast table.

"But James-

"_Don't_, Remus," James snapped for the fourth time, flinging the egg-filled spoon back into the dish. The clatter, coupled with the ferocity with which he threw it, earned him several odd looks from nearby students. James found that he didn't care.

"Would it help if I told you my head really, really hurts?" Remus asked, scratching at his chin awkwardly. "Because it does. It feels like angry ants are attacking my brain from the inside." Despite his friend's pleas, James could only muster a half-hearted shrug.

"Look, Prongs," Sirius said guiltily, "if you want to blame anyone, it should be me. If I hadn't gotten the alcohol, and if I hadn't thought of that whole second part of the idea-"

"Don't," James repeated dully, beginning to sound a lot like a broken record. He spooned bacon on to his plate moodily, contemplating the juicy fat with something akin to mild curiosity. Peter, who was squinting to block out the light, eyed James' bacon hungrily.

"It seemed like a really, really good idea last night."

"Everything seemed like a really, really good idea last night," James countered, sneaking a glance further down the hall. Sirius, even through the sunglasses he was wearing, seemed to identify who he was looking for immediately. James could make out the expression of reluctant pity on his face even through the shades.

"She's not here, Prongs," Sirius said gruffly. "I haven't seen her since last night."

James let out a groan, abandoning his plate to bury his head in his arms. Red hair, rich as a flame and brighter than the sun, tugged at his mind's eye. Why, _why _did they have to get her caught up in his stupid games? She probably hated him for all he was worth. He hated himself for all that he was worth. It would be a miracle if she didn't kill him in his sleep. In fact-

"Morning."

The voice was brisk, formal. James jumped about a foot in the air and forcefully restrained himself from automatically running a hand through his hair, trying to smooth the unruly tangles. Sirius gave him a look to let him know he wasn't fooling anyone.

"I said good morning, Potter," said Lily Evans coolly. "This is the part where you say good morning back."

"Potter?" James frowned. "That's not what you were calling me last night." As soon as the words had left his mouth, he realized his mistake. Peter choked on the bacon he had stolen from James' plate. Remus raised both eyebrows. Sirius choked back laughter, and nearby students stopped their activities to peer at him curiously.

Lily seemed very determined to ignore this. James caught a faint pink making its way up her neck as she took the seat across from him, hastily helping herself to some breakfast. James tried not to be too pleased by the seating arrangement. "Did you miss the rest of what I said?"

The words seemed to resonate in his head, jumbling until all he heard was sound. James watched Lily butter toast with a sense of distant worry. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad being head over heels for Lily Evans. Maybe he already sort of was. _Maybe_-

"Potter!" Lily snapped, clicking her fingers in front of his face. He blinked, startled. Lily let out an agitated sigh, turning to the rest of the Marauders. "Is he always like this?"

Remus nodded gravely. "It's usually worse."

"I am not!" James protested, fully alert again. "Always like this, that is." Lily raised an eyebrow. James promised himself he wouldn't go red. "Anyways, it's no time for good mornings. My reputation is at stake; we need to figure out how to get me out of this love-potion thing by lunch. I can't be trailing after _Evans_ all week like some lost puppy." He emphasized her last name to show her just what he thought. He swore she was trying not to smile.

"Hey!" Sirius protested, scowling at the table. He stabbed a fork viciously into his sausage. "I resent that comment. _Lost puppy_,indeed."

James grinned. "Sorry, Padfoot."

"Wait, what?" Lily looked entirely lost, an odd expression on the clever head girl. "What about dogs and resentment?"

"Anyways!" Remus clapped his hands together impatiently, a nervous tick jumping in his throat as Lily looked round at the four of them. "Lunch time is coming fast. Let's all hop back onto the band wagon before it leaves us behind! Toot-toot!"

Lily stared at him like he had grown four extra heads. Remus flushed.

"Er, yeah," Sirius jumped in, evidently trying to repair the damage. "Right. Well, why don't we just call it off?" He turned to look at the others, clearly pleased by his idea. "I mean, we cast the spell, right? Can't we just remove it?"

"No," Remus said immediately, "due to the legal and physical laws of charms and spell work-"

"So it won't work," James said, effectively cutting Remus off before he could get too carried away. "What about if one of us doesn't fulfill his or her part of the deal? What if Sirius doesn't get the potion in the first place?" It seemed reasonable enough. He glanced at Lily, whose eyes had lit up with hope.

"Well, that could work…" Remus hesitated. "That is, if Sirius doesn't mind dying in the process."

A couple seconds passed before Sirius looked up in alarm, hands flying up on alert. "Whoa there. Nobody ever said I was dying for the cause."

Remus shook his head, considering. "No, I think the only way is to actually do it." He looked about thirty times as guilty now, shooting sneaky glances towards the door. James sucked in a breath.

"Alright." Lily was taking deep, calming breaths. Her breakfast lay abandoned at her fingertips. "Then we need to come up with a plan."

"A plan?" James echoed. Lily shot him a dirty look.

"Yes, Potter, a plan. Do you know what that is?"

"Of course I do," James said, slightly offended. "I'm a Marauder. We don't just make it up as we go along, you know."

"Actually," Sirius threw in helpfully, "most of the time we do."

James shot him a look of betrayal, as quite clearly, Sirius was on Lily's side. His friend unfortunately missed it in favor of wolfing down his eggs. Remus let out what sounded suspiciously like a sigh, turning towards Sirius with a disapproving look. "That's because you won't listen to me when I tell you that we need to make a plan beforehand. It's the logical, smart answer."

Sirius turned an alarming shade of pink, looking up from his plate. He opened his mouth, then closed it with a frown. And suddenly, out of nowhere, his eyes lit up enthusiastically. "And did you put _logical, smart_ answers down when you got that T you told us about?"

It had the desired effect. Remus looked very embarrassed indeed. His fingers twisted around one another, and he seemed unable to meet any of their eyes. His words, directed towards the table, were almost muffled. "Out of all the things that you could remember while being that thoroughly intoxicated…"

Sirius perked up again, opening his mouth to most likely relay a snide line about the words _thoroughly intoxicated_. when James decided it was time to steer the conversation back to the original point. He turned quickly to Lily. "So what do you suggest, then? About the plan?"

Lily bit her lip. For a moment, James did not think that she was going to speak at all, she was so quiet. The others leaned forward to better hear her, glancing stealthily over their shoulders. Lily's expression cleared, and when she spoke, her warm breath raised the hair on James' arms. "We'll take the potions at lunch as planned, but not somewhere public. We'll need somewhere quiet, preferably like your dorm room."

"But can James handle that?" Sirius asked, sniggering at his own joke. James thumped him hard on the arm, causing him to wince in pain. He turned back to Lily, indicating that she would go ahead. She gave him a smile that nearly literally melted his heart.

Damn it, what was wrong with him?

"So we'll take the potions," Lily continued. "Then the first few days shouldn't be so bad. As long as we ignore each other as much as possible, the effects shouldn't act up until later. About day five though, we should move somewhere more secluded." Immediately, James' thoughts went into the gutter, and he could tell that Lily knew. Her nose scrunched up in disgust. "Oi! Don't get any ideas, Potter."

"Wasn't going to, darling."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Anyways, we'll miss Friday of class, which might be hard for James, but I'm sure that I can handle it. I can always tutor you if you need it, Potter."

"That's brilliant!" Sirius whispered, grinning at Lily. "Mary and I will just make something up about some cold going around that you two have." He crinkled his nose, as if suddenly contemplating something. "You did tell Mary about all this, right?"

Lily nodded. "Of course."

"And you painted me in a good light?"

Lily hesitated. "Uh-"

"That'll be enough for today, Padfoot." James grabbed one arm while Remus took the other, and together they hauled their friend to his feet. "We're going to be late for transfiguration, and we still have to drink that sobering potion." He turned towards Lily. "I take it you've already had one?"

She looked at him solemnly. "Always be prepared."

James sighed, glad that if he had to follow someone around, at least it would be Lily Evans. If James were to get into any sort of accident, he had no doubt that Lily knew fifty different ways to cure him. If she wanted to, that is. James turned to look at her one last time before class, memorizing her face. She raised an eyebrow.

"Boys dorm, twelve o'clock." She nodded in his direction. "Got it?" How she made a trip to his bedroom sound like a bank deposit, James would never know.

"Twelve," he agreed, repeating it more like it was his own idea in the first place. Lily gave a very unladylike snort before turning away, already heading back towards where the rest of her friends stood.

James looked after her longingly. It was going to be a hard, trying week.

o.O.o

It was ten minutes after twelve when James Potter started feeling the sudden urge to be sick. His breakfast appeared to have developed a mind of its own, pushing at the lining of his stomach with the force of a fist through a brick wall. Whether it was nerves or the first stirrings of a hangover setting in, James had no idea, but he knew that if it persisted much longer, he would be decorating the corridors with his vomit.

Eventually, after a near panic attack in the corridor, James had decided that he had waited long enough. Checking first to make sure that Remus and Peter were well ahead, he waited until no one was looking to take the opportunity to drag Sirius into the nearest broom closet. Sirius, as expected, let out a startled yelp, fighting him the entire way.

"What the hell, Prongs?" Sirius hissed as the door slammed shut. He poked James in the chest. "You know I don't do broom closets! Couldn't you have abducted me elsewhere?" James was glad it was dark so the boy couldn't see him grin. Sirius, for all of his bravado and confidence, never did like spiders.

"I can't do this, Padfoot," James told him. "I thought I could, but I can't."

Sirius gave him an odd look. "You abducted me to help with your relationship problems? Prongs, I haven't been in a functioning relationship in over two years. Why on earth wouldn't you ask Moony?"

James thwacked him hard on the shoulder. Sirius muttered a not-very-nice word.

"Alright, alright." Even through the darkness, James could see him glaring. "But the last time I checked, mate, you didn't have a choice." He patted him consolingly on the shoulder, wincing as he used the arm James had hit. Remembering that this was all his idea in the first place, James didn't feel half as sorry as he ought to.

"Lily's going to hate me forever," he groaned, slumping back against the opposite wall. "Do you know how long she can hold a grudge?"

Sirius shook his head. "She'll get over it. Most girls only need a couple days to come around."

James let out a long breath, closing his eyes in a grimace. "Lily's not most girls. Remember the whole chocolate-frogs-charmed-to-follow-her incident?"

"Ah yes. That was a classic."

"A classic screw-up by one James Potter."

Sirius gave him what he clearly thought was a convincing look of sympathy. "At least she talks to you in a civilized manner," he tried. "That's progress." Sirius snuck a wistful look at the light filtering in, and his stomach growled. Lunch would be happening now, and sure enough, James could hear the distant clatter of plates from the Great Hall. Lily was probably already waiting.

"I should really get going," James said. "I'll see you for classes after lunch if Lily doesn't kill me first."

Sirius, to his surprise, shook his head. "It's a half-day today, Prongs, remember? All the third years have that big Hogsmede trip. Moony's chaperoning, and me and Peter are sneaking out through the witch."

James groaned. "I forgot."

"I know." James watched half-heartedly as his friend dug around in his bag, pulling out two green vials, the precise shade of Lily's eyes. Sirius looked at them apprehensively before handing them over, his face an odd sort of pride. "Two freshly brewed love potions. Knicked them out of Slughorn's own stores."

"Thanks Padfoot," James said, pocketing them quickly. "I'll tell you everything later. Make sure to-"

"Misters Potter and Black!" McGonagall snapped. Daylight spilled in, alarming bright, causing both boys to jump and whirl towards the doorway. The professor stood silhouetted in the doorway, her hair escaping the tight knot on top of her head. "Just what on earth do you two think you are doing together in a broom closet?"

James looked to Sirius. Sirius looked to James.

"Making toast?"

James could have hit him. Just as he had suspected, McGonagall was not impressed. Her lips thinned, adding to her already stern appearance. "Making what?"

"I thought it was a fair suggestion, mate," James muttered, if only to comfort his friend. He couldn't seem to meet their irate professor's eyes. Sirius nodded imperceptibly, and although his hands were stuffed casually in his pockets, James thought he looked rather nervous.

Luckily, McGonagall seemed in a fairly good mood, which meant that she didn't immediately punish them or deduct points. However, this did not stop her from yelling quite embarrassingly loudly, "That will be enough time for you two boys to go lagging around in broom cupboards. Off to lunch, now!"

James didn't think he'd ever run so fast.

o.O.o

It was about 12:05 by the time James had reached his dormitory. He was short of breath and rather sweaty by the time he flung open the door and, despite the fact that he was red in the face, he didn't believe for one moment that Lily Evans would buy into his excuses. James was sure she was thinking thoughts of bloody murder.

He strode quickly into the dorm. "I'm sorry I'm late, Lily, I was-" He cut off as he realized that Lily wasn't anywhere to be seen. Cautiously, he scanned the room. Lily Evans was never late; likely, she was waiting for the opportune moment to strike back at him. "Er, Lily? You're not hiding because you're angry or something, are you?"

"Merlin, I'm here!" The door burst open with a resounding _bang_, revealing a harried looking Lily Evans in its wake. She was panting slightly, red hair falling in a messy pattern around her face. This somehow managed to make her look even more beautiful than normal. "I'm so sorry."

James swallowed. "What took you forever?" he demanded, leaning casually against a nearby post in hopes that he would look like he had been waiting a while. "I've been here for almost ten minutes."

"Potter, we both know you got here thirty seconds ago." She took a seat on Remus' bed, pulling off her shoes as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Maximum."

James found himself scowling at the girl. "Potter still, is it?"

"That's what I've been calling you since first year."

James shook his head, not quite sure why he was pushing it. He grinned blindingly, and a twisted part of him hoped that it sincerely annoyed her. His thumbs hooked in his belt loops. "No, it used to be James for the first part of this year, if I do remember correctly."

A smug look crossed the red-head's face. "And it could be _James_ again, Potter, if you didn't keep involving yourself in all of this rubbish."

Well, if Lily Evans hadn't just been entirely hypocritical.

"Me?" James demanded, his eyes widening. "Me? It was you that wanted to play last night!" He stood straight up, raising his voice to an airy falsetto. "Come on boys, give me your glasses so I can pour you all a shot! Oh please, Remus? Won't you play? Sirius, you are so funny!"

Lily burst out laughing. "James, you're not jealous are you?"

James scowled. "No," he said, a defensive note creeping into his voice. "I'm just tired."

Lily seemed to have calmed down to the giggling stage, occasionally laughing a little harder and closing her eyes. "I want to picture that forever. James Potter: the terrible Lily Evans Impersonator."

James heaved a long sigh, shaking his head before pulling out the two green vials. They almost seemed to glow, and he set them down between the two of them with a grimace. A stifling, sober feeling seemed to creep over the room, filling the nooks and crevices, and he swallowed. "I hate to ruin your one-person party, but we should really get this done."

Lily nodded, her business face taking over as soon as the bottles were mentioned. "Right. Did Sirius say how much we should drink?"

The fact that she had used _Sirius _and not _Black _sent a pang of irrational jealousy through him. James shook his head, lifting the vial as if weighing it. The truth was, he didn't really know anything about potions, and it should really be Lily doing the imaginary weighing. "No, but I think we just take the whole thing."

The red-head gave a reluctant nod. "Alright. Toss me one."

After seeing Lily on a broom playing chaser, James seriously doubted her ability to catch. Instead, he carefully passed her the nearest bottle, enclosing her fingers around it before he released it. Lily sarcastically thanked him before unscrewing the cap.

"On three?" James asked, raising the vial to his lips. Lily nodded, scrunching up her nose as if it was the most disgusting slug in the world. In fact, James thought it smelled rather pleasant, like coconut and papaya, but he supposed it didn't disguise the purpose.

"Three," Lily agreed. Then, in unison this time,"On my count."

James waggled a disappointed finger at the red-head. "Lily, love, if we're going to have a sort-of relationship here, you have to know that I'll have to be the dominant protector and provider."

Lily looked like she was now eating the slugs instead of smelling them. "It's three now."

James watched in pure shock as she downed the whole thing in one go, gulping it back like a dehydrated person looking at their first bottle of water in weeks. It dribbled down her chin, and wiped it away with her sleeve, licking her lips. James couldn't help but feel a little hot around the collar. Quickly deciding that he better copy her movements before she recovered completely, James closed his eyes and downed the potion in one swallow.

The effects were immediate; it was both pleasant and horrifying at the same time. The liquid was so sweet that it burned going down, searing his throat. At the same time, it tasted of sweet honeydew and vanilla, tickling his tongue. It was an odd flavour, and James found himself wanting more of it immediately and at the same time hoping never to take it again.

He doubled over coughing, grabbing onto a bedpost to support himself. Lily had given up on trying to stand altogether, sprawled backwards onto a nearby bed instead. Hacking coughs wracked her body, and she gasped for air, her hands fluttering helplessly around her throat. The thought of Lily in danger stopped his coughing instantly, allowing James to slowly right himself. He watched as she did the same, staring back at him in astonishment. She appeared to be waiting until her coughing subsided fully to speak.

"Do you-" she tried, gasping a little, "feel- different?" James watched as she protectively curled her legs into herself, wrapping her arms around her knees. James shook his head.

"No." And it was true; he didn't feel anything for her that he hadn't felt, except for maybe a new concern for her lung quality. She was still the same Lily that she had always been: beautiful, and perhaps a touch psychotic, but lovely still. "Do you?"

"Not really," she hedged, squinting at him slightly. James was immediately alarmed.

"Not _really_?" He took a cautious step closer to test his theory. Lily just glared, crossing her arms over her chest. Her expression still held the same tinge of annoyance, and James couldn't tell if he was disappointed or relieved.

"I said not really, Potter," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "not that I'm ready to go flying off into the sunset on a broom stick with you. Merlin."

"Well then what do you mean not _really_?" he asked suspiciously. It suddenly occurred to him that she might have hit her head while rolling around. He frowned at her, torn between keeping an eye on her and fetching Madam Pomfrey. Lily heaven a sigh.

"You just look sharper, or something. I can pick out things that I couldn't notice before about you."

"Like what exactly?" James asked curiously, moving to sit on the bed across from her. Surprisingly, she didn't kick him or yell at him. Instead, she stared at the back of her freckled hands, her pale face contrasting with the fiery red of her hair.

"Your eyes, I guess." She glanced upwards, peering at him through her lashes. "They're not just a brown anymore; they're more of a hazel kind of colour with little gold flecks in them. And your hair; it has a little bit of blonde that I didn't-" she cut off, catching his look of amazement and shock. She flushed, turning as red as her hair. "_You told me to explain, Potter_!"

James couldn't help but chuckle. "It's alright, I see it too."

He hadn't realized it at first, but at her words, he noticed with an odd sense of dismay that he understood exactly what he meant. Her hair was just a little bit more copper tinged than it should have been, and her eyes had just a little too much darker green. After spending years studying her face, it was slightly unnerving to feel as if he was looking at a stranger.

"Er, right." Lily stood up abruptly, stumbled, and accidentally upended a lamp positioned nearby. "I should get going. To, uh, meet Mary. And explain." She started towards the door at what could only be described as a trot. Unfortunately, she managed to trip over a corner of the rug, plunging down towards what looked like very hard ground.

Reflexively, James' arm shot out, catching her tightly around the waist. He hadn't even been really meaning too, honestly, but it was a Chaser's reflex that had been beat into him since he was young. For a moment, they simply stared at one another. Lily looked up, and James looked down. The way that he could see her eyes now made things distracting, the darker green patches pulling him in like an ocean tide. He distantly heard her breath catch and tightened his hold without really meaning too.

"Where were you this afternoon?" he murmured, half in a dream. "When you were late."

"You were late, too." But it was more a reminder than an accusation. James found that his own breathing had stopped.

"You had me worried." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he could hardly believe that he had spoken them. But Lily had a way of dragging the truth out of him, more than any veritaserum could do, and a strange part of him found that he didn't mind. The red-head before him let out a short breath, making his cheeks flare up with heat.

"Amos found me in the hall." Seeing James' expression, she hurried on, "It's fine, I got away. He's just very persistent."

James nodded, not moving a fraction of an inch. Their lips were mere inches apart, and he could smell the intoxicating scent of vanilla and roses coming off of her in waves. He thought of Amos thinking the same thing just a few hours ago, and he felt an unexpected pang of sympathy. "I know what it's like to chase a girl who doesn't love you."

It must have been the word _love_ that set her off. Quick as a flame, Lily was out of his arms, pressed up against the door. She looked mad enough to spit nails.

"_James Potter_," she hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Making toast?"

Once again, the words were out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying. Apparently Lily didn't like his creativity any better than McGonagall had.

"Making what?" the petite red-head demanded hotly, her voice dangerously low. James decided that he had better start calming her down before her fiery temper got the better of him and she hexed him.

"Lily, listen," he said desperately. "I wasn't doing what you thought I was doing."

Brilliant.

He could have smacked himself and saved her the trouble.

Surprisingly, Lily's irate expression faded to one of disbelief. Her mouth popped open and she sucked in a gasp, as if she had just realized something. A look of horror stole over her face. She crumpled against the nearest door, clutching her mid section like she might fall apart. She looked almost broken, like a delicate china plate with spiderweb cracks. Her voice was a whisper. "I know. Oh, _Merlin_, I know."

"Lily-"

He winced as the door slammed behind her. She was well gone.

o.O.o


	3. The BrownEyed Monster Named James

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Harry Potter. It's all the talented J.K. Rowling's. Trust me, if it was mine I wouldn't be shy about hiding that fact.**

**Thanks for reviewing to…**

**.Laura - just that word made my day. Thanks!**

**1hannah1 - I'm glad I'm writing James/Lily too. And I must admit that I'm pleased you liked Sirius - he's one of my favourites to write.**

**NeonGreenSunglasses - Thanks for reviewing. I must admit I checked out your Wait For It story and thought it was really cute. Sort of made my day.**

**Annabella Princess - Thank-you for reviewing again! The support made me smile. I'm glad you like James - so do I!**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"…And then she sort of got really angry and then got really sad and then she just _left_." James finished with an anguished expression, waving his hand in a flourish to symbolize the end of his story. He turned towards his three best mates, each wide-eyed and hanging on his every word. He smirked inwardly with satisfaction. He had sat through three Peter-in-Honeydukes stories for this.

"Wow." Sirius said, whistling long and slow. "And I thought my excursion with Ms. Clearwater today was memorable."

Remus gave a derisive snort. "We both know that you didn't really go have a good snog with Daniela today. You're just too stubborn to admit you're hung up on one girl."

Sirius made a choked sort of noise. "I am not hung up on Mary!" He protested.

James raised an eyebrow at his friend, reclining in his seat. "Who said anything about Mary?"

Sirius just scowled, throwing another longing look towards a group of girls sitting nearby in the common room. Sure enough, Mary sat directly where his line of gaze fell. James couldn't even find enough will to pity him. A certain red-head sat right next to her and, especially with the potion's effects, looked especially spectacular bathed in firelight. At least James had the potion to blame for the magnetic draw he felt to go sit with her. Stupid potion causing this stupid magnetic draw, causing these stupid concentration issues.

James let out a long sigh. "Right, back to my problems."

Sirius gave a snort. "Which ones? Your mental illness or the Lily related ones?"

"Did you try sending flowers?" Peter asked hesitantly.

Surprisingly, out of the two pieces of advice, James was inclined to like Peter's better. Still, both were crap.

"Moony?" he appealed desperately. His friend looked up from the book he was reading. James tried unsuccessfully to make out the title before realizing that it was written in runes. He found he wasn't surprised.

"I think she hit her head too hard while rolling." Remus informed him.

` "Moony!" James scolded, scowling. The boy gave a sigh, setting down his text with a regretful look.

"You want to know what I think?" he asked wearily. The others all nodded, looking eager. The boy sighed. "I think she is a girl. And girl's are full of complex emotions. So I think that due to these complex emotions and the amount of love potion she ingested, that Lily may have felt something different then what she usually feels for you today, Prongs." He shrugged, looking embarrassed. "She just acted accordingly."

James sat back in his chair, stunned. Sirius had much the same look, nodded his head slowly. "That almost made sense." He complimented, thumping Remus on the back. "Wait to go, Moony! You should have been a girl."

Remus turned an alarming shade of pink before scowling.

"Hold on a minute," James said, still confused. "If she was mad or something, why wouldn't she just _tell_ me?" He thought it was a very valid point.

Surprisingly, it was Peter who spoke up. "Girls have a natural tendency to avoid the issue and read into things." he squeaked sagely. "She probably expected you to just know."

It was his turn to accept astonished stares. He looked down, abashed. "It's something my mum says." he muttered.

James let out a long breath, putting his hands behind his head. "So let's say a girl wants you to ask her out," he said randomly, trying to find an example. "they wouldn't just be like 'ask me to Hogsmede you prat!'." He left out that that was how he pictured Lily doing it. Remus and Peter both shook their heads.

"No way." Remus confirmed. "They'd be much more subtle. They might even hint that they like a certain food or something over and over again-"

"Bloody hell!" Sirius said, sitting stock upright. "Is that why Mary keeps going on about corn? I thought she just really liked the stuff!"

Peter gave Sirius such a sad, pitiful look that James actually couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in him too.

That was until he remembered he was just as clueless.

Sirius still hadn't lost his horrified expression. "What am I supposed to do? She'll hate me!"

James thwacked him on the shoulder. "Just remember mate, this time at lunch I had doomed my fate by swearing an Unbreakable Vow to feed my potential girlfriend a love potion and take one myself."

Sirius gave him a considering look before nodding, thinking hard. "Yeah, I suppose you're really worse off then I am." James somehow did not find this comforting.

"Just remember," he told Sirius firmly. "everything I do is for your own good."

The dark-haired boy nodded, surprised. "I know that." He confirmed.

"Good." James told him. He took a deep breath. "Oi Mary! Lily Evans!" They both turned towards him, curious expressions lighting each of their faces. He was relieved to see that Lily's contained no hatred.

"Yeah?" Lily answered, though it had been Mary he had addressed first. He tried very hard not to beam and only barely succeeded.

"C'mon over here." He scooted over to make room on the couch, motioning for Sirius to do the same on his. The boy did with a distant look of horror, gaping at James.

"And what do you think you're doing?" he demanded, watching the girls coming towards them out of the corner of his eye. James grinned.

"Manning up for you." He explained. Sirius scowled at him.

"I'm plenty man enough." He argued. "I've snogged more girls then you have."

James found he felt too sorry for his best friend to actually feel the sting of the comment. "That may be true," he said slowly. "but I think that Mary is what we call your 'mental issue'."

"Or your one true love." Peter inserted helpfully. Sirius gave him an odd look.

"You need to stop loading up on all that fairytale muggle crap, Wormtail." James informed him sadly. "It's turned your brain to mush."

Remus looked affronted. "Hey, I happen to have read all muggle fairytales."

James just sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, but you've read all the books in the library."

Remus kept an even game face, but as he leant forward to pick up with textbook he muttered, "At least I don't have to use the excuse of Mary and Sirius to get a girl to come see me."

James only grinned. Remus knew him too well.

"Hello boys." Mary greeted, plopping herself into the seat beside Sirius with no hesitation whatsoever. "How may we help you this fine evening?"

James couldn't help noticing that she glanced at Sirius as she said this. Apparently, his friend noticed too and the biggest, goofiest grin he had ever seen Sirius wear broke out over his face. James peeked at Lily out of the corner of his eye to get her reaction and noticed that she was also peeking at him. A mixture of something bittersweet bloomed in his stomach.

"So Mary." he said quickly. "Sirius tells me you like corn."

"He tells you I like what?" she asked in an astonished voice. Behind her, Sirius was giving him serious shut-up gestures. Lily's laughter spurred him on.

"Corn." he said casually. "You know. Vegetable, yellow, good with butter." He took a moment to relish his friend's uncomfort and Lily's laughter before continuing. "I guess what I'm really trying to say is that Sirius-"

"Would you like to go out with me, Mary?" Sirius shouted, effectively cutting James off. Unfortunately, it had been so loud that most of the common room had also gone silent. Sirius didn't seem to care. He was looking at Mary with a very guarded expression - not regret, exactly, more of a mask to hide the vulnerability. James snuck another look at Lily, who had her eyes trained on her friend. The gorgeous coppery gold streaks James had only recently noticed in her hair did nothing to help his concentration.

"Yes." It was so soft that James barely heard it, but it was there. Then, louder. "Yes!" Mary squealed. "Yes, yes, yes I want to go out with you Sirius Black!"

Applause rang clear through the common room as the Gryffindors began to clap, laughing and cheering as Mary flung herself at Sirius for a most demonstrative kiss. James grinned, surveying the room until his eyes caught on Lily.

She was grinning too, ear to ear, looking immensely happy for her friend. But James could see the barest hint of sadness in her eyes as she looked at the overjoyed couple and he wondered if he could have possibly ruined it for her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Do girls like Honeydukes?" Sirius asked curiously. "I mean, they're awfully skinny. Do you think they eat sweets?"

James let out a long breath, mentally counting to ten. "If I'm ever like this Moony, slap me." He muttered. A sudden crack across his face made him jump and step back, his cheek stinging. He scowled at his friend.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

Remus gave him an innocent look. "You asked me to hit you. So I did."

Sirius stopped his monologue, turning to face both of them with a disapproving expression. "Do I even want to know?" He paused, catching himself before grinning. "Good Merlin, I sounded like my mother." He paled suddenly, frozen. "Oh god, should I _tell_ Mary about my mother?"

James cut Remus's response off with a sharp look, gesturing for him to be quiet for a moment. Sure enough, Sirius barely took a breath before answering for himself. "Well yes, of course I should." He informed himself sternly. "But never on the first date. No, that would be crazy. And as for crazy, I wonder if the joke shop might be _too _crazy…"

"Is _he_ crazy?" Peter whispered, gesturing towards Sirius with wide eyes. "Or does he just like talking to himself?"

James shared a grin with Remus before shaking his head, chuckling. "He's just never been on a proper date before. 'Man whore of Gryffindor' and all that."

Sirius stopped suddenly, turning back on them at an alarming speed. James found himself a little scared. "Do you think she knows about that?" he demanded. "And if she does, would she care?" James found the front of his robes grabbed, Sirius shaking them forcefully. "I'm panicking here!"

"Good Merlin." Remus commented dryly. "I hadn't noticed."

"Oi!" James protested, nettled. "Set me down, Padfoot. You'll notice I never picked you up and tossed you about when I was worried." He made sure to use the word 'worried' instead of 'panicked' to establish his manliness. Unfortunately, Sirius took the opportunity to come to his senses and snorted.

"Yes, instead you forcefully abducted me for an escapade into the nearest broom closet where McGonagall found us in the middle of a heated moment." He informed him.

James noticed Peter and Remus staring. He didn't blame them one bit.

"Er," he said uncomfortably. "that wasn't exactly how it happened."

They kept staring. Sirius looked smug.

"Bloody hell, we're going to be late for potions." James announced between gritted teeth, starting at a hefty pace towards the dungeons. The others trailed along a step or two behind him.

"So." Sirius said almost immediately. "Honeydukes is an okay then? As long as I buy of course." He said this as if it was the obvious choice. Which James figured he had probably made it out to be in his head.

"Padfoot." He said tiredly. "I was up all of last night seeing Lily's face over and _over_ again in my head, every damn cute expression she has playing like some sort of extremely long photograph." He turned to look at his friend, opening his mouth to say more when Sirius's slightly crestfallen expression made his stomach turn guiltily. It was like watching a kicked puppy. "Yeah." he said at last. "Take her to Honeydukes."

It was worth it to see his best friend so happy. Even when Remus mouthed 'caver!' at him.

"Right." Sirius said, shrugging as if he had been non-chalant about the whole thing the entire time. "Yeah, I guess we'll play it by ear." James had never been so relieved to see his old swagger and confidence return.

"Excellent." He said happily. "Now that we've solved all of our relationship problems-"

"And what makes you think I don't have relationship problems?" Remus asked mildly. Three heads immediately snapped towards him, jaws dropping. Moony? In a _relationship_?

"What?" Sirius choked out, eyes bugging. Remus shrugged, half-smiling.

And, of course, the bell took that moment to ring, beckoning them to potions. Of course.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mr. Potter." Slughorn sighed, wagging his finger wearily. "Are you quite as sure as the first five times that you're still listening?" James gave a startled jump, focusing his eyes on the professor. He gave a slow thumbs up, grinning.

"Just resting my eyes, Professor." He told him seriously, peeking minutely out of the corner of his vision to see Lily giving him a frustrated look. An inward smirk unfolded before he could stop it. James did hope it didn't show on his face.

"Right." Slughorn announced tiredly, turning back towards the board. "As I was saying…" James took the opportunity to tune out again, concentrating instead as he had been on not looking at Lily. He knew it was driving her crazy that he wasn't staring when clearly she was finding the potion's effects hard to resist, especially when the other appeared sharper and brighter then almost anything else in the room. But James had been staring at her now for seven years. He was getting better at this.

"Just resting your eyes, hey mate?" Sirius sniggered, leaning over to mutter 'quietly'. James grinned slightly, shaking his head before picking up his quill.

"Shut up." He advised him half-heartedly. Sirius only sighed.

As it appeared, Slughorn was now done lecturing anyways and the picking up of the quill was useless. The old professor broke into a smile, turning to face the class. "Students." He announced happily. "I'm happy to say that these partnerships were well thought out and planned. There will be no trading as I expect that these pairings will produce the best results."

James felt a stab of alarm go through him. He hadn't been paying attention at all, and now Slughorn was reading out partners? "Padfoot." He hissed, throwing a ball of paper at the boy to get his attention. "What on earth is he talking about?"

His best friend heaved a shrug, holding up a piece of paper. "You got me." James noticed with dawning dismay that the doodles looked a lot like Mary in cartoon version. There goes any chance that might have provided.

James turned to his other best friend slowly, steeling himself. Dare he poke the lion? "Moony?" he asked desperately. "Were you listening?"

Remus eyed him shrewdly for a moment, evidently deciding whether to tell him what he had missed. (Obviously, Remus had been listening). Eventually, he exhaled, nodding. "I'm only telling you because you've been distracted for a good reason." He informed him. "And because usually you're a good student."

James tried not to feel too insulted by the 'usually'. That was pretty good coming from Remus. "Got it." He agreed.

"No telling Sirius." Remus added, throwing a glance to where their friend sat gazing dreamily towards Mary. "He needs to learn to figure these things out for himself."

"And no telling Sirius." James confirmed, one ear still trained on where their professor stood, reading out pairs. He hadn't heard his name yet.

"Right," Remus explained hurriedly. "Slughorn's decided we're doing a 'fun potion'." He put his famous air quotations around the two last words. James leaned forward, interest piqued. Remus continued in a rushed voice. "He'll basically assign the potion and the pairing will have to study and re-create it. But they're difficult potions," he warned, seeing James's confident look. "Even for someone who never studies because they're supposedly a 'natural'." More air quotations. James grinned.

"I am a natural." He insisted. "I just throw in some peppermint every time and you will find that-"

"And last but not least," Slughorn called rather loudly. "James Potter and Lily Evans."

James found that whatever he was going to say next turned to a sort of gurgle of disbelief. A quick glance at Lily proved she was also shocked.

"Er, professor?" James called, deciding that this was perhaps not the best plan in avoiding someone for as long as possible. "Would it be possible to - I don't know - switch partners?"

Slughorn looked stunned for a moment, as if wondering why on earth anyone would want to trade partners when they had the best potions maker in the class. Then he broke into a grin, laughing out loud. "I see my boy," he announced, reaching over to pat James in a father-like gesture on the back. "You're pulling my leg!"

"Oh." James said articulately, realizing with a sense of disappointment that Slughorn thought he was kidding. "No, I'm actually serious."

Slughorn gave another bark of laughter, turning to pull Lily towards them with a sweep of his arm. The girl gave an alarmed look, back-pedalling away from the pair of them as fast as she could. Slughorn gave another chuckle, pushing her even closer to James. He saw her grimace and wondered if the intensity of his colours blinded her as well. "You're quite the jokester, Mr. Potter." He informed him, winking at Lily. "Watch yourself around this one, Ms. Evans."

James could have swore she flushed. Still, it could have been his imagination.

"Maybe he better watch himself around me, sir." She said stiffly, detaching herself from his grip as she said it. James took a moment to be amazed before glancing back to where the Marauder's stood. Peter looked at Lily in a similar fashion as if awed by her nerve, and Sirius, who had been paired with Mary, wasn't really watching any of it.

Remus was sending him signals that he could torch the place if James wanted to make a run for it.

Slughorn just chuckled. "Perhaps he had." He agreed, clapping both of them on the back. "In fact, I think this will make a very interesting pairing. With Ms. Evan's brains and Mr. Potter's ideas, just think of what could be accomplished!" He broke off, his eyes lighting with a mad excitement. James found himself a little scared.

"So… what's our potion?" He asked cautiously, still trying very hard to not stare at Lily. She seemed to be doing the same, turning away as if it hurt to look at him too long. He was inclined to agree.

"Well," Slughorn began secretively. "I saved the best for last. Class, say hello to your new Love Potionateers!"

The clapping didn't even have time to start. "NO!" they cried simultaneously, glancing at each other with similar expressions of horror.

James didn't even have time to savour the colour of her eyes before she turned away, blushing.

Okay, so the fact he could now make her blush wasn't all bad.

"No?" Slughorn echoed, his eyebrows flying up into his hairline. James imagined that no one had ever said no to him before. And certainly not that rudely. He strived for a bit of what Lily would have called tact.

"What we mean, professor," he said quickly, fixing Lily with a quieting glance. "is that Sirius and Mary really, really wanted to make the love potion." He emphasized this last bit, hoping that at least either Mary or Lily would catch on. His hope for his best mate was sadly diminished long ago.

"Oh - that's right!" Mary said, giving Slughorn a very sad, pathetic look. "I was just telling Sirius and James I've never had the chance to work with one before."

"She's very upset about it." Lily threw in helpfully, catching on quickly. "I mean, I wouldn't normally just give away a _love potion_, but given the circumstances…"

Slughorn gave a thoughtful nod, surveying Mary closely. "I never did say you couldn't change potions…" he mused. James felt a surge of hope, pleading with his eyes for Sirius to speak up. Thank god he understood him.

"Please, sir." Sirius put in, which was shocking enough that he had said the word 'please' in the first place. Slughorn sure looked amazed. "We'd really like to switch."

It was a pretty good effort. James held his breath.

Slughorn tugged his moustache slightly, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "I do suppose… if you really think it would be best…" he muttered, talking more to himself then to them, really. James gave Lily a quizzical look without thinking that she returned with a smile. He might have died a little on the inside.

"Yes, Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter can do the more advanced Sleep Draught." Slughorn announced, beaming as he clapped his hands together cheerfully. "And Mr. Black and Ms. McDonald can have the love potion."

James couldn't help but smile. Lily caught his eye and did the same. James really did feel a little of his heart die. He wished, not for the first time, that this love potion thing had never occurred and that he knew for sure which 'him' she was smiling at. But, still.

"Thank-you, Professor." He thanked him sincerely. "You won't regret this."

Slughorn raised an eyebrow, peering at both of them closely. "I dare say I won't."

And, not able to tell why, James Potter felt himself flush.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

James Potter had never considered himself someone easily upset. He hadn't complained when Sirius had accidentally set his curtains on fire. He hadn't yelled when a confused Peter had handed him a biting Glarsnuff instead of a harmless Mayfly in Herbology. And he had never once minded the fact that Remus read until at least eleven at night every evening, aside from full moons.

How one girl managed to change all that, James had no idea.

He did know he didn't like it very much, though.

"Y'know, she doesn't like him." a miserable James told Sirius sourly. "I know she doesn't."

Sirius raised his head from where he sat nearby in the common room playing chess, meeting James's gaze. He looked more amused then James thought he had the right to be.

"I'm sure she doesn't." He agreed, frowning as Remus made a particularly spectacular move. James sighed.

"I just-" he cut his gaze to where Amos sat chatting with Lily, a hand dangling on her shoulder. He gritted his teeth. "I mean, it sort of looks like she does, doesn't it?" He asked tightly.

"Sure does." Sirius said absent-mindedly, pushing a pawn forward with a look of concentration. James felt his face harden.

"But I know she doesn't." he said pitifully. "She told me." This was technically true.

Sirius gave a jerky nod, swearing colourfully as Remus took his knight. "You bet." He confirmed. James dragged a hand through his hair, trying very hard to tear his gaze away. This did not work. He groaned.

"Do you think I should go over there?" He asked uncertainly, watching as the hand Amos had placed on the red-head's shoulder slipped dangerously lower. He felt his own grip on the couch tighten automatically.

Sirius waved his hand impatiently, making a non-committal noise. "Follow your heart or whatever. That's what Peter would say if he were here instead of stuck in detention." He advised. James decided this probably came from a deep, deep place indeed.

Luckily, Remus decided to speak up. "James," he warned, moving a horse forward with something resembling ease. "girls don't like when men interfere. It's a proven fact. Just look at people like Frank Longbottom." He suggested. "Poor bloke just tries to get his girlfriend to try a piece of chicken and suddenly half the castle's up in flames."

Sirius gave a small grin, prodding a bishop forward with his finger. "That's because Alice was a vegan though, Moony." He reminded his friend happily. "And the chicken was quite meat-filled when she ate it."

Remus slapped a hand to his head, chuckling. "That's right!" He exclaimed. "My bad. I'd completely forgotten."

James watched with a mournful feeling as Remus took Sirius's castle, grinning even wider as he did it. It sadly resembled whatever guy was playing with his fate. "But he just seems awfully _close_ to her is all I'm saying." he said defensively, crossing his arms. "Diggory, that is." He glowered at Amos's hand like he could just tell it to move with his mind. It didn't.

Remus gave him a half-amused, half-fond look that somehow came out tired. James almost felt like smiling. Almost. "Prongs, remember that you took a love potion yesterday designed to make you fall in love with Lily." He reminded him gently.

James scowled. "So?" he demanded, not seeing how this related at all to Amos making a move on the red-head.

Remus rolled his eyes, apparently giving up on patience. "I'm just saying that it might be possible for you to be feeling the teeniest, tiniest bit jealous." He chided.

James let out a bark of crazy laughter. "I am not jealous!" he protested wildly, sweeping his hand so widely he knocked over a nearby pile of textbooks. "That's absurd. I'm not even really sure I like Evans half the time." He added thoughtfully. Still, he admitted it did take some very conscious thinking to call her anything but Lily.

This time it was Sirius that answered. "Look, mate." He said absently, prodding his queen forward in what looked like a last desperate attempt. "I'd say I know what you're going through right now, but I really don't." He admitted. "What I do know is that it really, really sucks."

James gave him an odd look, slouching even further back into the couch. "Thanks, Padfoot." He said unhappily. "You keep rolling out those encouraging speeches, buddy."

Sirius snorted, watching Remus make his move out of the corner of his eye. "I only meant," he continued. "that it really can't get any worse then this right? I mean, I can have any girl I want and I only want Mary. Maybe Lily's like that for you, love potion or no love potion."

It was the sincerest thing James had ever heard him say. He might have teared up a little if only he hadn't been watching Amos's hand with the vision of a hawk. "Thanks, mate." James told him sincerely. He paused, glancing over at the pair. Nothing too new had occurred, but Amos now had a predatory look in his eyes that James didn't like one bit. He glowered at the boy.

"So you think I should go over there?" He appealed, watching with satisfaction as both boys nodded. Remus even grinned, though it could have been because he was going to win the game. James hoped not.

"Right." He said briskly. "Wish me luck."

Neither looked up from their game. James tried not to feel insulted and focused instead on crossing the common room without tripping or looking like a fool.

Love potion or not, Amos Diggory was not getting his hands on Lily Evans.

**A/N: Oooh a cliff-hanger! Or maybe not, since you can probably guess just what James might be thinking here. Anyways, please review! I swear it shouldn't take more then a minute.**


	4. Study' Dates and Smells

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to get this up… you can blame it on the horrid amount of studying I've had to do. Thank-you all so much for favoriting and reviewing, and alerting and reviewing, and mostly just reviewing. I found a lot of your feedback helpful and I swear it will make more sense in a while. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or anything connected to it at all. It all belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling, who I bet has never opened one textbook in the last 15 years. (So, definitely not me).**

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Hello you two," James said cheerfully, nestling himself between Amos and Lily with difficulty. "Not interrupting am I?"

For a second, the red-head was so astonished she didn't even glare at him. Then the apparent shock of James sitting on her lap seemed to wear off and she gave what could count for a snarl, shoving him forcefully off. Or at least, attempting too. James chuckled and stayed where he was.

Amos gave him a confused look. "Did you want something?" he asked incoherently, latching onto Lily's shoulder with slightly more difficulty now. James tried not to feel like the bloke was putting his arm around him.

"Actually, yes." He informed him happily. "You, mate," he said slowly, standing up to poke Amos in the chest. "are looking a mite desperate here. I just wanted to let you know," he continued, ignoring the look of outrage on Lily's face. "that if you want a girl like Lily Evans you've got to let her come to you. Trust me, I know." He turned to wink at the furious red-head. Her eyes were shooting daggers at him. James found he had somehow become accustomed to this and no longer cared.

Amos looked flustered, removing his hand from Lily's shoulder immediately. "I didn't mean- I wasn't trying to-" He spluttered.

James just sighed. "Confidence is key, Diggory." He told him sadly, patting him on the back before walking away, trying his hardest not to whistle or cheer in delight. James started to count down the seconds, knowing what was coming. Three… two… on-

"Potter!" Lily called, sounding mad enough to spit nails. "We need to talk."

James couldn't stop the wide smile that took over his face this time, turning with what he refused to describe as a cocky lilt to face the girl. "Sure, Lily, love." He obliged. Raising his voice slightly, he added. "See Diggory? Works like a charm every time. What did I tell you- ow!"

He cut of with a noise of complaint as Lily grabbed his ear, dragging him through the portrait hole. Sadly, since it was Lily, James found he didn't mind.

"And just what," Lily demanded once they were safely out of earshot. "was that exactly, James Potter?" It didn't sound very nice, either. James shrugged.

"He needed a serious lesson on how to pick up witches." He told her seriously, unable to stop a small grin from overcoming his face. "Did you see how long he held his hand on your shoulder for? It was like a new record time."

Lily gave a small chuckle at that, nodding reluctantly. "So that part was a little weird." She agreed. "But still." Her eyes grew steely. "What were you thinking? I realize that the love potion is going to make things hard, but we need to try to avoid each other."

"Too late." James told her cheerfully. "Potions partners, remember?"

"James." Lily sighed exasperatedly. "I'm just saying that you don't need to give a stern talking-to to every boy that so much as talks to me." She gave him a dark disapproving look. It oddly succeeded in making James feel slightly guilty.

"Even if he has his hand on your shoulders for a scary amount of time?" James asked, hoping it would make her smile.

It worked. Lily cracked a grin. "Especially then." She told him. She paused, considering. "Unless he has really bad nails." She added thoughtfully. "Then you're welcome to interfere."

James whistled long and low, too impressed to laugh. "Lily Evans." He said, astonished. "Was that a joke?"

The red-head gave an amiable nod, tossing her hair. "What can I say?" She teased. "Maybe I'm spending too much time with certain people."

James shook his head, putting on a sad expression. "Witches all over London would kill to hang out with James Potter and you're being greedy."

Lily narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "It's hard to ignore you when you stand out like this." She said, gesturing sharply towards him.

At first James thought she meant his winning personality and had to agree. Then he realized the sudden sharpness and glow due to the love potion's effects.

"Oh." He said slowly, looking down at himself as though he could see it too. "Right."

Lily squinted at him for a long moment, her eyes raking over his face. James tried hard not to shiver. "You know, I like you better before." She informed him. He gaped at her. It made her smile. "I mean, I know the love potion is just enhancing you to make you look attractive, but it makes you too perfect."

James couldn't help the sudden feeling of elation. Did his ears deceive him, or had Lily Evans just called him hot? Well, not in so many words. But the intent was there.

"I know what you mean." James agreed, relieved. "You don't look exactly like yourself either. And no one can see it but me."

She stared hard at him for another moment, as if calculating how much he had changed. James found it made him much too self-conscious for his liking. And James Potter refused to be self-conscious.

He cleared his throat, hastily attempting to change the subject. "So." He said articulately. "Why _was_ Diggory talking to you?"

Lily kept staring at him, though the gaze lost some of its intensity. "He wanted to ask me about my plans Friday." She said finally, breaking her exam of his face to James's immense relief. "At least, that's what I gathered. He mostly mumbled a lot and tapped my shoulder."

James couldn't help a small snort from escaping. "Confidence is the first rule to getting a date." He explained upon seeing Lily's raised eyebrows.

"Must come naturally with that big ego of yours. Kind of a package deal." Lily commented dryly.

James chose to ignore that last comment on the account that she hopefully didn't mean it. "But you didn't say no to his face, then?" He asked her seriously. "That would have made him cry."

Lily gave him a scrutinizing look. Her green eyes glowed distractingly with their new sharpness. "And what makes you think I said no?" she asked curiously.

James didn't even hesitate. "Because you don't like him." He told her confidently. Lily's eyebrows shot about as high as her hair line.

"Oh, I don't?" She asked. James swore she sounded amused.

"No, you don't." He confirmed. "In fact, _I _think that you like-"

He cut off as Sirius and Mary tumbled out of the portrait hall, locked together at the lips. They were both making very inappropriate noises. James turned to Lily, a feeling of both amusement and disgust going through him. Lily had a similar expression. This was something they both were definitely not supposed to and really had no desire to see.

"See you in the morning?" Lily mouthed, unable to stop her expression from twisting into repulse as Mary made a particularly interesting sound. James nodded, already backing away.

"Love you, darling." He mouthed back, winking as the red-head flushed and glared. He turned back through the portrait hole.

Some things never changed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Prongs," Sirius started for the hundredth time. "We don't _have _to go, you know. We could all stay behind. I mean, there will be plenty of Hogsmede trips this year and Mary will completely understand if you just want us to hang out here with you."

James heaved a big sigh, noting his friend's guilty expression. The Marauders were gathered in the front hall by the main doors, raising their voices slightly to be heard over the crush of students. The volume was twice as loud as usual as students pressed past each other to get to the sunlight streaming in. James rolled his eyes at his friends, knowing what was coming.

"It will be _fine_, Padfoot." He insisted, leaning back against a nearby pillar. "Honestly. It's like you think I have the self-restraint of a very intoxicated duck."

Peter pulled a confused look. "Is that even possible?"

James merely smirked.

"It's just…" Sirius hesitated, checking to make sure he wasn't overheard. "You just took a love potion, mate. And now you have to go to some quiet 'study place' to go work on a tiresome, long essay in a secluded area with your one true love. Not exactly promising."

James felt slightly stung. "Well I'll be sure to ring you up if I feel the need to snatch Lily away for a jaunt to the nearest broom closet." He said, nettled.

Sirius gave a small grin at that. "At least with everyone gone they'll all be available. No line-ups."

"Besides," James continued, sensing a victory. "you haven't shut up about this date with Mary since you asked her. You should go."

Sirius paused, now looking hesitant. "I don't know." He hedged. "Moony, you've been awfully quiet. What do you think?" James swivelled towards where Remus had been standing, expecting to see the boy with a book in his hand as per usual. Only, the spot where his friend was standing was now empty. He felt his brow furrow.

"That's odd." He said slowly. "Did he say he forgot his textbook or something?" He was only half kidding, too.

Sirius shook his head, looking just as confused. "He must have gone on ahead."

The two boys exchanged similar looks of disbelief. Leaving without the other Marauders was simply unheard of.

"Oh, don't mind me over here." Peter said unexpectedly, a slight bitter tone entering his voice. "It's not like I'd have anything to contribute."

James turned towards his friend, his eyebrows raised. "Did he say something to you, Wormtail?" He tried to keep the surprise out of his tone. Remus had told _Peter_?

Sirius didn't even bother. "He told _you_?" He demanded, more astonished than upset. James winced slightly.

Luckily, Peter seemed too smug to take personal offence. "He didn't have to." He explained self-righteously. "I just pay attention."

"Hey!" Said Sirius indignantly. "I pay attention too. In fact, I could tell you that it's a Wednesday. And that we have Transfiguration tomorrow."

James snorted. "Padfoot, transfiguration is part of our daily schedule. And every day is a Wednesday with you."

Sirius looked abashed. "Guilty as charged." He conceded.

Peter suddenly looked anxious, glancing up as bells rang, marking the ten o'clock mark. "Er, guys?" he said tentatively. "It's ten."

Sirius gave a low whistle. "Thank-you Captain Obvious." He saluted.

Peter made a face. "I'd rather be obvious and organized than have no idea what time my own date was at." He shot back.

Sirius gave a chuckle. "But I do know what time it's at." He relented. "I'm meeting Mary at-" Sirius's face turned ashen.

James couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm not meeting Lily until ten-thirty!" He sang. "You, my friend, are in trouble!"

Peter nodded, looking very pleased with himself indeed. It was not everyday one could succeed in freaking out Sirius Black so badly.

The boy in question swore quite loudly, thumping James on the back before dashing through the doors, running presumably towards Hogsmede. Peter gave a quiet laugh before saying his good-byes as well and starting at a leisurely pace behind his friend, though looking rather nervous to be so alone.

As Remus was nowhere to be found, James Potter found himself alone and meeting Lily in a near-empty castle in about thirty minutes. He wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or bad thing.

What he did know was that he had not been far off with having the will power of an intoxicated duck. In fact, James Potter figured that the duck might even be better off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"James Potter." Lily announced, not even bothering to look up as he entered the library. "Late as usual, I see."

He grinned, plopping himself down into a chair right next to hers. "You know my steps now? That's so cute."

She gave him a small glare, though he swore she was trying not to smile. He watched as she very purposefully and obviously pushed her chair further away from him. "It's actually that big head of yours." Lily said very seriously. "It fills up the room."

"Lying to others is a sin," James said dryly. "Lying to yourself is a hopeless mistake."

She gave him a very critical look. "You do realize that made no sense at all."

"Ah," James said sagely. "But that's only because you refuse to think outside the box."

"And now I know not to eat the oatmeal at breakfast." Lily announced, shoving a textbook towards him. But James noticed she was smiling, which made him want to smile too.

Probably a little more then it should have.

He opened the textbook quickly, hoping to distract himself. "Want to start with research or the actual thing?" He asked, scanning the pages with what he thought could pass as academic interest. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Well I wasn't aware you could read." She said. "So I thought maybe the potion. But now…"

James glared at her. Now she really did smile.

"Let's do the potion first." Lily decided, rifling through her own text with interest. "It looks complicated, but I think if we have the right ingredients…"

James nodded, only half aware of what she was really saying. Maybe it was the way the potion enhanced her features, but he could now notice a certain way her eyes lit up when she talked about potion making or a certain glow that shone through her face. She really loved it, he realized.

And then, of course, the thought that followed was the less pleasant one where he realized that she never looked at him like that.

James Potter then realized that he was jealous of a potion and felt very stupid indeed.

"The list," he said hastily, tearing himself back to the present. "Slughorn gave us a list of ingredients he had already. We should look at that."

Lily gave him a look that said she was amazed that he had remembered. Come to think of it, James was amazed too.

"Yes, he did." She said, rather suspiciously. "I have it here." She drew out a piece of very long, white paper, dotted with various names of ingredients. James scooted closer, not at all minding the excuse the list gave him to be nearer to her. Lily cleared her throat, her eyes trained dutifully at the list. Maybe just a little too trained. James grinned.

"Well." She said finally. "It looks like he had everything to have made a love potion with." James didn't miss the catch in her voice as she said the love potion part. He nodded, having some idea already what was in it.

"Yeah." He agreed. "But I'm glad Sirius and Mary got it. Not that they really need it." He added, chuckling and grimacing at the memory of the two last night. Lily had a similar disgusted expression, though she was also smiling.

"Mary won't shut up about him." She admitted. "I doubt I'm ever going to sleep again."

"Oh, it's not the sleeping I have issues with." James said airily, waving his hand. "It's more the constant singing in the shower. Love songs," he explained, seeing her look of disbelief. "mostly classic Wizard Rock songs. There was a lot of Celina Warbeck which I will not even begin to get into."

Lily gave a laugh, shaking her head. "I don't believe you." She told him. "Sirius would never listen to anything remotely girly like that."

James gave her a solemn look. "You haven't heard the muggle music I get occasionally." He informed her, cracking a grin at her giggling. "Dixie chicks, Madonna…"

Lily's eyes lit, her face positively glowing. "I grew up to Madonna!" She cried, looking ecstatic. James put on a sombre expression.

"I think I know every word to Material Girl there is to know." He said. Lily rolled her eyes, punching him in the shoulder.

"We should really be concentrating on the potion." She sighed, pinning up her hair as she turned back to the list again. "Or we'll never get to it."

James shoved down the growing regret and disappointment and nodded, peering over her shoulder to study it. "It shouldn't be too difficult." He said slowly, ignoring her look of disbelief. "Think about it. Slughorn's got about half the ingredients and the others are easily bought in Hogsmede."

Lily was already shaking her head. "Not some common Lavender." She said regretfully. "That's way too muggle. We had some, growing back home… but I doubt we're going to be able to get that."

James grinned, remaining unfazed. "I've got it covered."

Lily shot him an extremely doubtful look. "Why is it that I have a very bad feeling about this?" She asked. James gave her an innocent look.

"Greenthumb at heart." He promised, nodding for emphasis. "Good things come to those who wait?" he tried, noting her still-dubious expression. Her face soured.

"I don't like waiting." Lily admitted. "Makes me antsy. That's why I'm always early, so I don't have to pace around before hand." James gave her a surprised look that she mirrored for a second, as if unsure why she had admitted something so personal. He quickly worked to look non-chalant.

"Well." He said slowly, studying the list of ingredients. "That leaves about two others not on the list."

Lily seemed to be mentally tallying as well, scribbling away on a pad of paper. "Which are?" she demanded. James did another mental count just to be sure.

"Hair of a werewolf," he said slowly, wondering if Remus would mind a friendly donation. "and the breath of a virgin."

Lily frowned, then blushed. "Uh," she said. "the second bit shouldn't be too hard I guess, but the first…"

"Don't worry." James said automatically, not thinking. "I got it covered."

Lily gave him such a curious look that James shortly realized he should really be wearing a muzzle around her.

"But for the whole breath part," he rushed on, frowning as he read the next paragraph. "there's ground rules. Apparently, the person has to be one hundred percent pure and cleansed. That means no kissing either." He added, seeing Lily's look of protest.

That brought her up short. She bit her lip. "That could be tricky." Lily said stoutly. "But if you're taking the other two, I can do that one."

James felt a little bit bad, since the other ingredients were easy. The werewolf hair he hoped Remus might help him out with (since he valued school so much to begin with) and he had plans to obtain the lavender. Still, he nodded.

"Thanks." He said grudgingly, cracking open the textbook. He frowned, realizing he needed the one across the table.

Seeing Lily so engrossed in her own book, he leaned across her, reaching with his fingertips to swipe it. Several things happened at once. Lily gave a startled gasp, yelping and dropping the book she was reading. James jumped and bumped the book off, causing him to shoot forward and practically land on Lily. And, finally, the best scent James had ever smelled in his life reached his nose and all of a sudden he found it incredibly hard to think.

It took him a moment in his daze to realize that he was still on Lily and that she hadn't taken the opportunity to dump him on the floor. His sluggish mind worked hard to process this as he turned to look at her, his eyes drinking her in. Lily's face had gone a weird flushed colour and her eyes were dark and heavy. She was watching him with an odd expression, though her eyes had gone unfocused and she seemed to be struggling to think.

James found he was also drifting, though he noted this more as a problem he should deal with later. It was as if only slight coherent thought streams could go through his head, and only one at a time. He caught snatches of things like _should really get off of her _and _smell is driving me crazy_ but he couldn't really move for fear that the smell would disappear.

He wasn't sure how long it was before Lily spoke, her voice tight and controlled. "James." She said quite seriously. "James, snap out of it." But her voice was slightly sluggish too, as if it were with great effort that she remained near to him. "James!" She snapped, sounding much more controlled.

That did it. James launched himself across the room as fast as he could, both relieved and immensely upset and disappointed when the smell disappeared. Oh, Merlin. That smell.

"What was that?" he asked tightly, working too sound like it wasn't killing him on the inside. He wondered if this was what being a drug addict was like and decided that it probably wasn't enough to describe how he was feeling.

Lily seemed to be shaken, the flush draining to a starch pale. "I don't know." she whispered. "You just leaned over and all of a sudden this _smell_-" she cut off, examining her fingernails nervously like he would judge her. James gave a sudden harsh laugh, feeling bitter humour rise up in him. At least she had felt it too.

"And I'm sure you can probably guess what it was." He said shortly, his voice flat. Lily nodded, looking terrified and perhaps a little relieved that he had evidently felt it too and she wasn't crazy.

"The love potion." She confirmed, scooting a little farther away from him so the distance was close to half a room between them. James suddenly felt very tired.

"I'm starting to think this whole partner-thing isn't going to work." He told her dejectedly, his usually wit abandoning him yet again. "With us not being able to be in the same room without freezing up and almost choking to death on our own drool."

Okay. So he might have a little of it left.

Lily blushed, but looked very determined. "No." She said to his surprise, scooting a little closer so that she was within ten feet of him. "We have to make this work."

"Lily," James said, eyeing her with alarm. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

He could not believe those words were out of his mouth. A beautiful girl was advancing on him and he wasn't sure it was a good idea?

Lily only raised her chin defiantly, striding a couple steps closer. James inhaled slowly, the scent of her faint but noticeable. Lily must have been able to see the change in his face. She gave him a quizzical look, taking another step forward.

"What do I smell like?" She asked, evidently curious. James just shook his head, slightly dizzy as another wave overtook him.

"Like sunshine." He said honestly, and she gave him a surprised look.

"I wasn't aware sunshine had a scent." Lily said wryly. He grinned at her.

"I wasn't aware I was so attractive that you almost couldn't stand it. But we learn something new every day." He informed her. She stuck out her tongue, taking another step.

"You're avoiding my question." Lily told him, her face knotted in concentration as she took another step forward, sweeping her red-hair behind her. James chuckled.

"I know." He told her. "But you have to tell me what I smell like first."

If she was surprised or not expecting the question, Lily certainly didn't show it. She didn't even hesitate. "Fresh laundry." She admitted, kicking a chair out of the way as she moved to sit near him. "And Tide."

"Tide?" James echoed, his brow furrowing in confusion. Lily grinned, really grinned, shaking her head.

"You wouldn't get it." She told him, leaning back and propping open a textbook. "Muggle term."

It took James a moment to realize she had successfully made it across the room without either one snapping. He sat up, startled. "It's not so bad anymore." He said, his tone coming out surprised. "I can actually stand you."

Lily gave him an amused look. "Just what every girl wants to hear." She added. "I can stand you."

James just grinned, picking up his textbook. "Better then 'what's your name again?'." He told her.

Lily just rolled her eyes, sighing. She had apparently gone back to what James privately referred to as 'Lily-mode' - all reading and no fun. "Just tell me when you hit the passage on Sleep Draughts." She told him.

James found himself spending the next half-hour squinting at text.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**A/N: Not much of a cliff-hanger this time, but let me know what you think! Who would you like to see more of? Anyone have any guesses as to why characters may be… acting strange? (Or as more strange as it gets when one is love-potioned)**


	5. If Lily Didn't Kill Him, Quidditch Would

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter world is not mine and is in fact J.K. Rowling's. You might not have heard of her. She's a multi-millionaire who wrote these seven books…?**

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. But here it is now so you may enjoy. **

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The thing about nerves, James conceded darkly, kicking a nearby wall with pleasure, is that they really had no purpose besides being horribly bothersome. He shifted his broom stick in his hand while eyeing the wall with contempt, brow furrowed. Not that James Potter was nervous to fly. In fact, James Potter may very well have been the best chaser to have ever played on the Gryffindor House team.

No pressure or anything.

"James!" Sirius called, striding down the hall towards him. Remus and Peter trailed a little behind, Peter because he felt this was his rightful position and Remus because he was again reading. "You excited for the match today?"

James gave his friend what he hoped passed for a confident look, puffing up his chest proudly. "Padfoot." He announced. "I am going to lead my team to a victory so good it'll envy Irelands over England."

"I'm going to pretend that you all have no idea that I support England." Remus said dryly, finally setting his text down to give his friend a pointed look. "And are good friends that are simply clueless."

Sirius positively beamed. "Thank Merlin for that too," he said, patting James hard on the back. "because I bet five galleons on you mate."

Suddenly, the pressure James was feeling increased by about a million. People were betting on him?

"What?" he spluttered incoherently. Sirius only grinned excitedly.

"Did you bet on me as well?" James asked, turning to gape at his other two friends with a sense of distant horror. Peter shook his head, looking a little scared of him.

To his surprise, Remus blushed.

"Er," he said slowly. "maybe."

James gave him a puzzled look. "How much did you bet?" he asked, gauging his friend's reaction.

Remus coloured even further. "Well, it might not have been for money."

James felt his brow furrow, even more confused. He sometimes wished that he was what others might have referred to as 'the clever one'. "Then what did you bet for?"

Remus just looked down, mumbling something incoherent. James felt his eyebrows fly up into his hair. "You bet a snog?" he demanded, his voice rising slightly. "Oh, Merlin Moony. I hope it wasn't after too much firewhiskey in Hogsmede yesterday with some Slytherin. Especially Snivellius. I hear he has horrible breath." James was quite aware he was rambling, but seemed unable to stop.

Sirius gave him a look saying that he had clearly doomed their friend. James couldn't help but agree.

"Actually," Remus said conversationally, raising his head to look them in the eye. "I was sober at the time, thank-you very much. Although I guess I was in Hogsmede," he added thoughtfully. "So one out of four billion accusations and demands isn't too far off."

This time it was Sirius that spoke. He sounded absolutely amazed. "Moony." He breathed. "You don't mean to say - that there's someone you want to snog?"

Remus looked slightly offended by their friend's astonished tone. James couldn't blame him. "Maybe there is." He challenged.

Sirius looked like he was about to explode with excitement. James couldn't help but mirror his expression. Here he and Sirius thought they had been having it off, and Remus had snuck in for the kill.

He had never been so proud.

"Hello boys." Mary said cheerfully, causing them all to jump and Sirius to grin. "Not interrupting, are we?"

James's eyes went immediately to Lily, who was staring at him slightly. He watched as her eyes raked over his Quidditch uniform, an odd expression coming onto her face. Lily's gaze kept wandering up until she caught his eye, blushing and looking away. James grinned. He could never express just how much he enjoyed that.

"Of course not." Sirius said slyly, reaching over to snake his arm around Mary.

James might have retched if it wouldn't have looked unattractive to Lily.

Mary looked at him fondly before turning towards James, a smile in her eyes. "And is the star chaser ready to go?"

The thing about Mary, James was shortly realizing, was that sweet as she was, she was no good at reading emotions. The praise acted like a battering ram, pummelling his stomach until he was sick with nerves. On the bright side, Lily had remained wisely silent. He didn't think he could handle it if her hopes rested on him.

"Almost." He told her, gesturing to where his elbow guards dangled off his arms, undone. "Just doing some last minute adjustments."

"What he really means," Sirius announced candidly. "is that it really all comes down to whether he can stay conscious once he's out on the pitch."

James shot a glare at his best mate. Sirius knew him all too well.

"Potter!" Madame Opos called, the referee for the match. "Rally your team. We're on in five minutes."

James gave a little start before shooting a thumbs up to where she had stuck her head into the hall, not even really sure she was there anymore. He was so busted.

"They can't exactly start the match without you." Remus reminded him, reading his mind as he frantically moved to do up his gear. "You're kind of the captain."

"And thank Merlin for that." James agreed, frowning as the clasp slipped. "Bollocks."

"I've got it." Lily said, and to his immense surprise and probably her own, stepped forward to help him.

The others goggled for only a moment before realizing that they should probably take their cue to leave.

"Right," Mary said, recovering remarkably quickly. "we'll just see you both out there. Good luck, James."

The others echoed her good wishes before scooting off hastily down the hall, Sirius hovering protectively around Mary like some sort of human shield. Possibly from things like germs.

It was oddly sweet.

"They're cute, those two, aren't they?" Lily asked softly, her voice echoing his thoughts. "I just hope they'll be fine once things settle down."

James gave her a questioning look, which she sadly missed as she worked on his wrist straps. "What do you mean?" he tried, clearing his throat in the hopes that it wouldn't crack on him.

She was standing awfully close. And the scent was still driving him crazy.

"You know," Lily said, rolling her eyes before setting to work on his other wrist. "with all the snogging. It's so new at first and exciting that you can mistake it for something more. And then the reality sets in and you realize that you really don't know the other person well enough to base a relationship off at all."

James shook his head slightly, making his whole body move so her steady hands fumbled. She frowned. "I disagree." James told her seriously. "But I'll humour you. What does Lily Evans constitute as knowing someone?"

The tiniest smile lit her face as she moved onto his shoulder straps, her slender fingers brushing his skin. He sucked in a breath, trying to breathe through his mouth only. It would do no good to inhale her scent now. In fact, it would probably turn her off for life.

Not that she was ever turned on, really.

"Ice cream flavours." Lily finally admitted, her smile widening. "He has to know my favourite ice cream combination. And my favourite type of flower. And what season it grows in."

She grinned like there was no way anyone was ever going to get something that complicated. James only snorted impatiently.

"Your favourite ice cream," he told her, watching with satisfaction as her eyes widened. "is a combination of pistachio and pecan. You like it because your sister is allergic to nuts, and you can only have it while away from home. As for your favourite flower, it's not a Lily or a Petunia, but a carnation. Only it can't be any carnation, because there's a certain type that only grows in winter that you especially like. It's blue." He threw in helpfully, grinning as she stood gaping like a fish out of water.

James decided to take pity on the fact that she had apparently lost her voice and decided to speak again. "We're not in a relationship," he told her gently. "and I still got it. I think there's a lot more to love than just knowing someone."

She gave him an unreadable look, opening her mouth hesitantly to reply when an angry Ms. Opus reappeared, her face furious.

"Potter!" She snapped. Lily and James both jumped about a good two feet before turning guiltily in her direction. The professor stood with her arms crossed, glaring at them both with a severe expression. "What part of five minutes on the pitch don't you understand?"

James widened his eyes innocently. "Sorry, professor. Evans was distracting me."

Lily gave him a dirty look before re-arranging her expression into an angelic one. James couldn't help but grin.

Ms. Opus looked like she couldn't care less. "Now, Potter." She snapped, eyeing him sharply.

James nodded, shooting one last look at Lily. Walking away, he began hollering orders at his team and praying that the print of Lily on the back of his eyelids was very, very temporary.

He somehow doubted it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A unanimous scream of elation rose from the stands as James Potter swooped towards the Slytherin goal, performing a tricky roll to dodge an opposing chaser before tossing the quaffle clean through the goal. Cheers sounded loud from the stands, the commentator struggling to be heard over them. James grinned, giving a jaunty wave before refocusing.

This was what he lived for.

"James!" Dareth Gates a fourth year beater, called. "Watch it!"

He ducked as the boy swung the club above his head, performing a familiar pattern they had covered in practice. He grinned at Dareth, thumping him fast on the shoulder.

"Better every time." He told him proudly, swerving towards the opposite direction as fast as his broom could take him. Dareth's reply was lost to the wind, James already accelerating in anticipation.

The score stood 50-40 Gryffindor, but it wouldn't be long until Slytherin tied or pulled ahead. The team had already put all their best moves on the table and repeats were not an option. James gritted his teeth, watching their Seeker, Jill, out of the corner of his eye. She was good, sure. But she would have to be great if they were going to win.

Not to mention save Remus from possibly kissing Snape.

He concentrated hard as the play started again, the familiar charge-and-return pattern so easy he could have done it in his sleep. James didn't hesitate as he passed the quaffle off to a fellow fifth year, signalling that they should feint the return and pass upwards instead. The boy nodded, steeling himself before making the play. Slytherin blocked the shot, turned it around and scored.

James hated, hated, the delighted screams that reminded him of the failure he faced.

He was again really, really glad that Lily was a Gryffindor and not a Slytherin.

But he wouldn't think about Lily Evans. Love potion be damned.

"…And they've seen the snitch!" the announcer yelled happily, causing James to jump and then steel himself. "The seekers have really seen it this time. Look at those dives!"

James turned with mounting anticipation to see Jill racing against the Slytherin seeker far below, a determined expression on her face. He could see her hand stretching out the way he had taught her even from this distance and relaxed a little. That might just secure them the win.

"But- hold on." The commentator said into the megaphone, sounding slightly confused. "It appears that they have company. Yes, the Slytherin beater seems to be right on their tails and rapidly gaining!"

James felt his blood freeze. The Slytherin _beater_?

What the hell was going on?

And all at once, in a horrible second of realization, he understood. Jill was about to resemble a very grotesque watermelon. And they were going to lose.

Without thinking, James dove. He urged his broom to get to the players faster, not even deciding if and what he was planning to do. A confused outbreak ran through the crowd, the tension of the unknown building fast. James bit down on his lip hard, aware the commentator was saying his name, announcing something about him to the crowd.

Most likely something cheerful about the colour of his funeral flowers.

It was a second before James realized he wasn't going to make it. The three players were almost at the ground now, Jill sandwiched between them and still fiercely reaching. He felt a stab of worry go through him and pushed harder, trying anything to motivate him.

But what?

And then James had it. Closing his eyes and ears to the shrieks of teachers, he focused only on Jill, picturing and willing her to be someone else. A specific someone else. Someone with very red hair and a terrified expression in her green eyes that he knew well.

It was working. He felt his speed increase by double, his heart rate pounding in his chest. He felt sick all over, still seeing red hair and he pushed himself faster until he was going at what definitely counted as certain death speed if he missed and hit the ground instead.

James really hoped he wouldn't miss.

He was ten meters away now, watching the beater raise the bat above Jill's head. The girl still did not move, her eyes fixed on the golden ball in front of her. He watched with distant horror as the bat came down and lost his head completely, doing the only thing he could.

James Potter flew in between his seeker and the very angry Slytherin beater.

And he decided that those bats hurt like hell.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

James couldn't tell what hurt worse - waking up with a massive hangover and knowing that you had to force feed the girl you loved a potion against her will _or_ waking up with a splitting headache and knowing that it hurt this bad with the drugs you were probably hopped up on.

They were probably both so unlikely that no one would ever be lucky enough to get the chance to experience both.

Except for James, of course.

"Do you think he's alive?" came an amused voice, somewhere to his left. "He's looking awfully rundown and pale for being alive."

"Shut up, Sirius." came another, sounding much more fond and patronizing. "Of course he's alive. And as for the paleness, he just took a beat to the head and fell off a broomstick. You wouldn't be gearing up for a model shoot either."

"Hey." protested Sirius, sounding most offended. "I could be dead and they would still use me to model coffins."

There was what seemed like a long, horrified silence before a girl spoke, sounding disgusted. "That is so illegal!" She announced, sounding very self-righteous. "You cannot use a dead person to model things. It goes against their final wishes."

"Oh I don't know, Mary." Another girl said, James instantly recognizing it as Lily. "They do some very dodgy things down near Durmstrang. I hear they dip their cloaks in blood just to colour it. I don't think coffin modeling would be very far off."

"I wonder if _they_ want James as a coffin model." Sirius said, curiosity lighting his voice. "We could split the profits. I bet-"

"that Remus and Peter would hopefully have the good sense to shove you off an iceberg." James continued, wincing as his voice croaked. He opened his eyes to see five relieved expressions peering back at him, evidently more worried then they had let on. He grinned, feeling his lip crack.

"Oh gross." Lily announced, looking away. "I hate blood." She gave him a mournful expression, shielding her eyes. James immediately checked himself.

"Where?" he demanded, the others looking just as confused.

"Yes, where Lily?" Mary echoed, giving her friend a very startled look. "He's not bleeding. Madam Pomfrey fixed him right up."

Lily just shook her head, refusing to look back at him. "His lip." she said in a strained voice. "It's everywhere."

Now the others were definitely giving her weird looks. James reached to touch his lip, realizing that it was slightly chapped and cracked from lack of hydration. Then he got it.

"Lily, it's just you that can see it." He told her, ignoring the other's looks that maybe he was crazy too. "It's because of the potion and the - er - new me." He finished awkwardly, realizing that the rest of their friends had no idea what he was on about.

The red-head blushed quite profusely. "Oh." She said, turning around to stare at him. "Sorry."

James grinned, raising his eyebrows. "For what?" he asked.

Lily lowered her hand, fighting what looked like a guilty expression. "Well I suppose that wasn't the best wake-up ever, was it?"

"Quite," James said cheerfully. "First I hear you all making plans to have me shipped off to model my dead carcass and then a magically enhanced witch is almost sick all over me because I have a cracked lip. Not the most warm of welcomes."

Lily flushed even deeper. "I was not almost sick." She muttered, though it was very half-hearted. James only grinned wider.

"So." He said shortly, turning to face the others. "What happened after that git hit me upside the head with a bat?"

Sirius snorted, rolling his eyes. "Well, the idiot had about five teachers on him and ten on you." He began, waving his hands animatedly. "We all thought he was going to loose it and come hack you to bits because Jill had caught the snitch. Slughorn had to give him a potion to knock him out. So that was the last we saw of him." Sirius said delightedly. "I'm hoping for expulsion on his behalf personally, although I think they were talking about a year of detentions because he claimed the bat slipped."

James gave Sirius a dark look. "It slipped onto my head?" he demanded.

Sirius widened his eyes innocently. "Don't kill the messenger." He intoned. James scowled. Mary patted Sirius on the knee.

"We've been here for about an hour." She told him sombrely. "You wouldn't wake up. You just kept muttering about saving someone from the beater."

James felt himself tense from the effort not to blush. "Did I mention any names?" he asked carefully.

A short silence ensued. "Mine." Lily said finally, refusing to meet his eyes. "You kept saying Lily."

James groaned, leaning back into his pillows. Remus gave him a pitying look from where he stood, writing a letter.

"It's okay." Lily said quickly, looking up to meet his gaze this time. "I know it was the love potion. Don't worry."

"I wasn't worrying." James lied, sitting up a little. It took more effort to ignore the pain then he had thought it would have.

"Steady." Lily said automatically, reaching forward unconsciously to prop him up.

It was in the instant she touched him that James felt it. Like a thousand sparks had transferred from her touch to his skin, rapidly spreading heat through his body and mind. He started a little, felt his hand jerk under her touch. It both hurt and felt amazing.

Lily back-pedalled instantly like she had in the library, clutching her hand to her chest as if it burned. They stared at each other in mutual amazement and disappointment.

"I always said you might be the one to do me in, in the end." James finally said dejectedly. Lily couldn't even manage a scowl, apparently still too speechless to do much of anything.

Sirius was wearing a sincerely confused expression, his eyes darting back and forth between the two. "Hold up a second." He said, pointing from James to Lily. "What is going on with you two? It looks like you've both just seen Moaning Myrtle naked."

James had to hand it to his friend. This was more in depth then what was in character for him. Sirius had understood something before Remus!

Or, at least, Remus hadn't had time to say anything yet.

He watched as Lily nodded, eyes still amazed. James raised himself up a little further, wincing.

"We can sort of sense each other better now, since we drank the potion." He admitted, wincing again. "Our eyesight is… improved to the other, as is our touch."

He threw a look at Lily, who nodded in agreement. Sirius gave an evil smile.

"So." he said. "Have you had a chance to try our that enhanced touch?"

"Sirius!" Mary exclaimed, sounding appalled through her laughter. "You can't just ask people that!"

"Why not?" he demanded, also grinning. Mary only shook her head exasperatedly.

"So you can see Lily better now?" she asked James, her eyes curious. "And - er- touch her?"

"Yup." James confirmed non-chalantly, popping the p. "And smell." He threw in helpfully. "She now also smells like perfume 24/7."

Sirius broke into the world's biggest grin.

"Wicked." He said with finality, throwing himself into a nearby chair. Mary sighed, but said nothing. She was probably already used to this.

"It is not wicked." Lily protested, frowning slightly. "I could have seriously hurt him just now with everything so out of whack." She gestured, wide-eyed, to where James lay in a hospital bed. If he didn't know her better, he would have said that she looked almost upset at this thought.

James let out a chuckle, amused by the fact that Lily Evans, 5'5 and thin as a twig, thought she could hurt him. "Could not have." He told her seriously.

She frowned, crossing her arms. "I could have too!"

"Now _this_ is more the Lily and James that I remember." Remus announced to no one in particular. Both glared at him. He shrugged apologetically, looking like he was holding back a smile. James refused to be nettled.

"Prove it then." He told Lily, watching her with guarded eyes. "Touch me again."

"That sounded awfully naughty." Sirius dropped in helpfully.

Mary giggled.

Lily chose to ignore the pair of them. "No!" She said, horrified.

James rolled his eyes. "Then I don't believe you." He told her firmly.

That got her. Lily Evans narrowed her eyes, her expression steely. James knew she hated losing. "Fine." She announced promptly, striding across the room to reach his bedside. "But it's your funeral."

James gave her a winning smile, stretching his arms out leisurely. "I expect roses." He announced. "And the Weird Sisters to play."

"The Weird Sisters?" Sirius echoed, shaking his head. "That's awful taste right there. Not to mention they'd be so _expensive_-"

"Alright," Lily interrupted, gritting her teeth. "where would you like the point of contact to be and don't bother saying it, Black." She finished, practically growling. Sirius threw her a slightly insulted look that she missed.

James just grinned, pointing to a particular painful bruise right under his eye. "Right there." He said, taking satisfaction in her brief shocked expression. "Just touch it."

"Still naughty." Sirius said under his breath. James spared him one dark look. He grinned.

"Hold still." Lily commanded, reaching forward. James held his breath as her cool finger brushed his cheekbone gently over the wound, causing little sparks to erupt along his skin. It didn't hurt anymore at all. In fact, James was surprised to note that it felt really, really good.

"Does it hurt?" Lily whispered, dragging her finger further along the bone. He shook his head minutely, not speaking. There was no need too anyways. He could see from her expression that she already knew.

"Well." Said Sirius slowly. "This has been a learning experience. Just don't forget about the rest of us here. I'm not interested in a strip tease."

"Except from me?" Mary asked, eyes dancing.

Sirius nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly."

"You know," Remus said, looking up from his letter with amusement. "I remember this one time last year when Sirius-"

"No, Moony!" The dark-haired boy interrupted, looking anguished. "Don't do it to me."

Mary gave her boyfriend an evil look before turning back to Remus, smiling. "Oh please go right ahead, Remus." She insisted, clamping a hand over Sirius's protests. "I want to hear this."

"Well if the lady commands it…" Remus said evilly, grinning at his friend before launching into the tale as the others listened with rapt attention.

James noticed that Lily didn't move her hand once. He also noticed, though he wasn't sure, that maybe she was enjoying the sparks just as much as he was.

He wondered if that was even possible.

xxxxxxxxxxx

James Potter was whistling happily, hearing with a sense of satisfaction the slamming of the hospital doors behind him. It was a perfectly good Wednesday morning, and he had potions class first thing. Normally, when this was mentioned, James would often groan and set his head in his hands while asking the fates where he went wrong.

But today was going to be completely different. Today was going to be wonderful. Today was going to be amazing because he had potions class with Lily.

Today was shaping up to be such a good day he scared himself just a little.

"Potter." came a snide voice, causing his fists to clench at his sides. "Just out of the hospital wing are we? Missing your bodyguards like your right hand?"

Okay. So today wasn't going to be perfect after all.

James turned to face Severus Snape slowly, his eyes no doubt burning in fury. Not that he'd really describe them that way, but he could definitely picture it. "Snivellus." He said shortly. "Missed your fruit basket in the mail while I was away."

Snape's lip curled unpleasantly. "Yes, that's right." He said silkily. "You were hit with a beater's bat. Funny how you would manage that while you're a chaser, Potter. You better learn to tell those balls apart."

Several rude remarks found their way into James's head, none of which were particularly nice. He bit his lip hard, trying to keep from throwing a punch. If only Snape knew… "Right." James said. "I'm not in the mood for witty sparring right now Snivellus. I've got a potions class." He started to walk in the opposite direction, immensely proud of himself, when Snape grabbed him by the back of the robes.

He whipped around to face him, pulling out a wand. The other boy copied his stance. "What is your problem?" James hissed, eyeing him with contempt.

Snape glared at him. Unfortunately, since that seemed to have become his permanent expression, this was sadly lost on James. But it was the thought that counted, really. "My problem?" Snape demanded, his voice sugar over ice. "My problem? You hanging around Lily Evans is my problem." He snapped.

For a moment, James merely stared. Then he felt himself start to laugh. Really big laughs, so big they hurt where James had fallen. At last he gained control enough to choke out, "Really? That's what you wanted to talk to me about?"

Snape gave him a dark look. "Stay away from her, Potter." he said sourly. "She doesn't want you."

That silenced James. He mentally counted to ten, waiting for the rage to die down. He found it didn't, really. A horrible smile seemed to cross his face, and he was rewarded with the smallest of starts from Snape. "Oh, I think she wants me." He said quietly, thinking of the love potion with a bittersweet feeling. "Trust me."

Snape looked murderous. "You've done something to her." He snarled. "She would never, ever go visit you of her own accord. If I find out you've threatened her or- or raped her-"

James let out a harsh laugh he hadn't known he was capable of. "I would never touch her if she didn't want to be touched." And that much was true.

Snape's sallow face twisted into its first truly horrifying expression, a mix of triumph and defeat all at once. "Well." He said slowly. "Luckily for you, mudbloods are easy then."

BAM. James fist hit Snape so fast in the side of the head that he crumpled to the ground with a single punch. Shock lanced through both James's wrist and his head, causing a dizzy wave to hit him.

Somehow he managed to stay standing. Mostly because there was no way he was going to be weak enough to go back to the Hospital Wing.

And also because Lily was going to kill him.

Merlin, did Snape have a set of lungs when he needed them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**A/N: Please drop a review! Just five seconds to write two words would make my day. **


	6. Confessions

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Harry Potter (insert little copyright sign here) as it all belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Thank-you all for waiting so patiently for this chapter. The end is getting near - I'm hedging on two to three more chapters after this so let me know who you would like to see more of before it's too late!**

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It was always a wonder how quickly gossip really spread around Hogwarts. James could have sworn that there had only been one or two eye witnesses, but it seemed like the new of the fight had traveled at light speed. Still, James couldn't help but uncharitably think that perhaps Snape had been encouraging this particular piece to spread. It seemed the entire seventh year class knew about the incident by the time James had entered potions.

The entire class including Lily Evans, of course.

"What were you thinking?" she hissed as soon as he had taken his assigned seat beside her. "Please tell me it's not true. Merlin, if it's true I am dropping you off the astronomy tower James Potter!"

James lowered his head into his hands, trying very hard not to look at her. The scent was enough to distract him - he didn't need to see her eyes too. "It's true." He confirmed.

He winced as she very accurately clocked him in the head, the touch sending love potion-enhanced tingles through him. Lily let out what could be described as a growl. "You git!" she said fiercely. "Did you just think you'd go celebrate your release from the hospital wing by beating up on Sev-Snape?" She corrected herself, eyes blazing. "Well, I've got news for you. Most people celebrate with things like chocolate frogs and flowers. Not public scuffles with whoever they see coming down the corridor first."

James raised his head wearily, opening his mouth. Unfortunately, Slughorn took the moment to launch into what trusted to be a very long speech about the importance of the project.

It seemed Lily didn't mind interrupting.

"They brought Snape down to the _hospital wing_." She stressed. "That's how much you hurt him. I would suggest saying sorry or something, but I doubt you would bring yourself down to such a humane level."

James felt his temper slowly rising, despite his stay-quiet-and-don't-mention-the-Snape-calling-her-a-you-know-what mantra he had developed. Unfortunately, he was not very good at the follow through aspect of such ideas.

"Well," he said irritably. "it really depends what you call humane. I personally strive to throw things at as many as five people a day and pull fly's wings off just for the fun of it."

Lily was practically breathing fire. "You _prat_." she announced. "You complete and utter prat. I thought that maybe you had changed this year, that maybe you were different from the arrogant James Potter I knew. But you aren't. You're still the same immature, rude, horribly obnoxious boy from first year." She announced, her voice rising to nearly a yell at the end.

The entire class swivelled in their direction, Slughorn breaking off mid sentence to raise an eyebrow at them. James held his breath. He had the feeling that everyone was waiting for another dramatic scene they could hopefully link to the incident with Snape.

Lily blushed quite thoroughly. "Er, sorry professor." she said shortly, picking up her quill. "Ready to go now."

"Right." Slughorn said, though he sounded slightly irritated. "Please try to pay more attention Ms. Evans."

James couldn't help but chuckle. Slughorn shot an annoyed look in his direction.

"That goes for you too, Mr. Potter." He said irritably.

James nodded solemnly, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. He figured, if worse came to worst and he had to actually use it, he could chuck a note at Sirius. He glanced across the room to where his friend sat, practically frothing at the mouth. Remus seemed to be trying to discourage him from just jumping over desks and pumping him for information about Snape. James felt a rush of gratitude as Slughorn began his lecture again.

"That was completely your fault." Lily informed him haughtily, flipping her hair over her shoulder and glaring.

James chuckled darkly. "It's like you expect me to apologize." He told her. "Wings off flies, remember?"

Lily gave him a look of pure loathing. "I hate you." she told him.

James felt his heart twist inside his chest, wishing he could apologize and just tell her what had happened. But he couldn't. It was for her own good. Besides, he wasn't sure if she would believe his version of what happened with Snape anyways.

"No, you don't." he told her smugly. "You're in love with me."

Okay, so he hadn't meant to say that, exactly.

CRACK. Her hand whipped across his face hard this time, leaving a stinging sensation that was magnified by about a hundred by the potion. He watched as Lily practically trembled with rage, her face as white as he had ever seen it.

James didn't think he'd ever felt so bad and rotten in his entire life. Yet, their was nothing he could do about it.

"James Potter," Lily growled. "You complete arse-hole!" she shrieked, losing it completely. "I hope our potion we make backfires and blasts you into a million little pieces so I can feed you as a snack to the _Snargluff plant_!" Her voice was so loud and hysterical at this point that he wouldn't be surprised if the class a floor up could hear it. Probably.

He did hope they weren't enjoying it quite as much as the Seventh-year Gryffindor. Sirius was definitely grinning. Traitor.

"Ms. Evans!" Slughorn interrupted, his voice both shocked and stern. "Take your seat."

James realized that Lily had jumped up during her rant, pulling out her wand. Most likely to follow through on her promise of blasting him into pieces. He supposed he ought to be thankful for the love potion for preventing her from being angry enough to do it.

Lily, who seemed to have calmed down slightly, sat down. She looked like she might really like to crawl into a nearby hole and never be seen again. James cleared his throat.

"It was my fault, professor." He told him, staring stonily ahead so that he couldn't see Lily's expression. "She had every right to be angry."

Slughorn deflated slightly, though his expression remained sternly parental. "I see." He said, nodding. "I guess it is expected after working with someone so diligently." He raised his eyebrows as if to remind them that they had better be working diligently.

James nodded, relaxing back into his seat as the instructor went back to lecturing. That could have been a lot worse.

Lily, however, looked terribly put-out. "I can't believe it," she said muttered, almost to herself. "I cannot believe it. A teacher was angry with me. And not just once but twice in one class."

James might have felt sorry for her if he hadn't been holding the record for most detentions in one week among the Marauders so far.

As the students scrambled to start their various potions, a crumpled piece of paper whacked James in the back of the head. Grinning, he unfolded it to find it was from exactly who he had guessed.

Prongs, it read.

Let me know when your fan club meets. I'm there. Seriously, mate? Beating up on Snivellus and ticking a girl off only to heroically take the blame for her own mistake? You are my new hero.

-Padfoot.

James turned to give his friend a thumbs up, watching as Mary also smiled and waved, pointing towards an oblivious Lily and miming something that looked like a very big apology.

James faced the red-head apprehensively, noting the stony silence he was still receiving. He cleared his throat. "Er, Lily?" he tried. She turned to face him with a blank expression, her arms crossed. James gulped. "…would you mind passing the book on ingredients?" he asked meekly, swearing inwardly.

They worked for the rest of the potions class in relatively civilized silence, James mentally kicking himself about every five minutes.

The study session tonight was going to be very uncomfortable.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm such an idiot." James announced, searching frantically for the potions textbooks he had left lying around the room. "I am, aren't I Padfoot?"

Sirius, who was watching him with apparent interest, gave a lazy smile. "Do you want the good friend answer or the honest truth?" he asked.

James paused a moment to glare before starting to search under a pile of clothes, praying that the books would let themselves be known very shortly. He swore rather loudly upon discovering the fact that they weren't there either, causing Peter to jump about a foot. He would have grinned if he hadn't been so anxious. "Time check, Moony?" He asked, moving to inspect under his bed. James watched as Remus glanced at his watch, his lips quirking into an amused smile. He felt his heartbeat quicken. That was never a good sign.

"You were due five minutes ago." Remus informed him happily, kicking his feet up before pulling out what looked suspiciously like a crossword. James winced.

"Lily is going to murder me." He muttered, shoving Sirius so he could check under him. "First, I love potion her. Second, I punch out her friend. Third, I yell at her. Fourth-"

"My," Sirius interrupted dryly. "This _is_ quite the list you have going."

James merely scowled, straightening after peering around the curtains. "You didn't hide the books, did you Padfoot?" He asked, half-hopeful and half-weary. Sirius just smiled as if he was enjoying something.

"Nope." the boy said innocently. James was immediately suspicious.

"Padfoot-" He started. Remus let out a chuckle from where he sat, cutting James off.

"Oh, take pity on the boy Sirius." He told him. "He's been running around like a chicken with his head cut off."

James wasn't sure whether to be grateful or insulted.

Sirius's expression turned to one of childish dislike. "No!" He protested stubbornly, sticking his tongue out. "I'm enjoying this too much."

"For Merlin's sake," James announced, shooting a dark look at Sirius. "unless you want to bring me sandwiches in the hospital for the next week, give me the books."

"Alright, alright." Sirius relented, grinning slightly. "I don't actually have them. We were just all laughing because you forgot you could just use a summoning charm."

Peter looked quite alarmed at being included in the 'all'.

"Oh." James said, trying to keep the embarrassment out of his voice as he scrabbled for his wand. "That's right. Thanks, mate." He said, feeling slightly guilty for snapping at Sirius. "I've been a bit scrambled lately."

"Yes, I think that potion fried your brain quite nicely." Sirius told him cheerfully.

James decided that they were close enough to even now.

"Right." He announced. "Accio potion textbooks."

Three brightly coloured books came flying towards him from the front pocket of his book bag, causing him to start in alarm and just barely catch them. He heard Remus stifle a laugh as he stumbled back a bit under the weight.

"Front pocket." he mused. "I must've been carrying them around all week."

"And here I'd just thought you were out of shape!" Sirius said, evident regret in his voice.

James made sure to whack him on the head before running out the door. Lily was probably waiting with a broomstick to hit him with by now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You're late." Lily announced, barely glancing up from her potions textbook in the library. "It's been ten minutes."

James resisted the urge to tell her that this was in fact quite early for him and instead settled for an awkward silence. Avoiding her gaze, he plopped himself down in the seat across from her, flipping open the first book he had to a random page.

Lily sighed. "Look," she began. "I-"

"You don't have to say it." James said quickly, expecting a real good thrashing. "I was stupid, I know. I had just come out of the hospital wing, and Sniv- Snape was right there and I have no idea what came over me. Maybe it was the potion, or maybe it was me, but I'm really sorry Lily." He finished, trying to keep what Sirius described as the 'pathetic, pleading, puppy-dog' expression off his face.

To his surprise, Lily grimaced as if his words stung her. "I know." She said shortly, avoiding his eyes. "About what really happened."

James felt like his oxygen supply had been cut off. "What?" he demanded. That had not been what he was expecting. The red-head looked uncharacteristically abashed.

"I know." Lily repeated. "Why you did it - what he called me." It appeared to hurt her too much to say Snape's name. James felt the fury within him begin to rise, wanting nothing more then to go punch the greasy-haired git out for making her sad. Of course, this could have also just been the love potion. Besides, Lily would just be angry all over again with him.

"How?" he asked. His brain was still a little too shocked to ask any sort of intelligent questions. Lily shook her head, still refusing to look at him.

"Mary told me." she said quietly. "She was talking with Sirius."

James felt a pang of horror. He had told _Sirius _what Snape had said? He must have been upset. His best mate was great, and loyal, but half the time the things he did for James's benefit ended up turning out really, really bad.

This was shortly shaping up to be one of those times.

"I still shouldn't have done it." He told her. "I don't know why I did."

"I do." Lily told him softly, finally looking up to meet his eyes. "And it's not because of the potion. It's because you're a damned good person sometimes, James Potter. Which is why I'm really-sorry-that-I-yelled-at-you-and-accused-you-of-having-no-humane-personality." She said in a rush, her breath catching when she finished.

James couldn't help it. He grinned. "Lily Evans." He whistled, astonished. "Did you just admit you were wrong and apologize all in one go?"

A smile broke over her face, her eyes glowing with their new sharpness. She raised an eyebrow. "You must have heard wrong." She informed him, gaze dropping back to the book. "I told you that you had better get studying before I turn you into a toad."

"I don't know," he mused. "A toad's not to bad. Green's my favourite color."

"Really?" Lily asked, a curious glint in her eye. "Not gold? I would have pegged you for a gold guy."

James gave a small scoff of disbelief. "Gold?" he asked, horrified. "Why on earth would I like gold?"

Lily shrugged, flipping her hair impatiently. "You know, the symbolism." She looked up at him, grinning. "Gold, the colour of power and riches. Star chaser and all that."

James was surprised to find he chuckled. "Definitely not gold." He assured her. "Much too flashy. It's only good for the house colours."

Lily raised her eyebrows, closing her textbook. "And what would you peg me for then?" she asked, her voice teasing. James thought for a moment, trying to think of a colour. It came almost immediately.

"Red." He told her solemnly, laughing at her shocked expression. "The colour of fire. Not the super wild part, but the steady burning embers. And your hair, of course." He added, both amused and delighted when she blushed.

"You're just trying to distract me." Lily growled, though she was holding back a smile. "It won't work, James Potter. Take out your textbook."

"Yes, ma'am." He saluted, pulling out his book with a smirk.

Still, James could not help dwelling on the fact that perhaps the reason he had told her his favourite colour was green was because her eyes had been so luminous when waiting for an answer.

Even more disturbing yet, James discovered that perhaps this his favourite colour really was green.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

James Potter let out an impatient sigh, glancing over at the clock he kept beside his bed. It read two in the morning, he was pretty sure. He was often wrong without his glasses though.

"Padfoot," James whispered, glancing over his shoulder in the dark to make sure the outlines of Remus and Peter were still unmoving. "Padfoot, are you awake?"

"Well I am now." Came a grumpy voice from his left, causing James to grin. He was glad his friend couldn't see it in the darkness.

"Sorry." he said automatically, though it came out more relieved then apologetic. "I was just… thinking."

A very annoyed grunt came from the direction of Sirius. "You're an awfully loud thinker. And the fact that you were thinking my name out loud is a bit creepy, Prongs."

James snorted. "Don't get too cocky. It's not good for your health."

There was a brief silence as the other boy seemed to debate just rolling over and going back to sleep. Then, "Alright, I'll bite. Thinking about what?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Lily." James admitted. He could practically hear Sirius rolling his eyes.

"No kidding." He said. "I doubt you think about anything else."

James frowned, shaking his head before realizing that Sirius couldn't see him. "No, I mean it's getting worse." He admitted. "It's this bloody potion! It's like my whole vision has sharpened, and my smell and touch goes on alert when I'm around her."

Sirius snorted softly. "I bet something else goes on alert as well." He muttered.

James chose to pretend he hadn't heard this. "And if that isn't bad enough," he continued. "then the feeling's are awful. It's like all of a sudden I actually have feelings, like wanting her to be happy and safe and stuff. And I'm starting to care about things like her favourite bands and colours. It's not just wanting to get into her pants anymore, Padfoot! What the hell is wrong with me?"

There was a stunned silence. Sirius cleared his throat. "Prongs." He said slowly, sounding a lot more serious then James had ever heard him. "It sounds like you love her, mate."

"No bloody kidding." James said savagely, though his anger wasn't directed at Sirius. "I took a potion, remember?"

"No, like really love her." Sirius said, sounding impressed. "Like, marry-you-and-stay-forever-with-you love her."

James let out a laugh that sounded hollow even to his own ears. "I think that if I spend anymore time with her, let alone a marriage, I'll crack. It's worse when I'm with her, but I can't stop thinking about her."

"Well neither can I!" said an indignant Remus, who had apparently just woken up. "I wake up every morning saying 'Lily' because that's all I hear all night. I doubt anyone in this dorm has gotten a wink of sleep because that's all we hear. Over and over in your sleep - lily, lily, lily like some sort of crazed chant. Bloody hell, Prongs! Just ask the girl out already."

"I agree with Remus." squeaked Peter unexpectedly, also apparently having woken up. "You're going to drive yourself crazy."

"Too late." said James dejectedly.

Remus, who seemed to have deflated slightly, took pity on him. "Look, it's Thursday today. Why don't you and Lily leave tomorrow and go somewhere else for a bit? The students are starting to get suspicious because you two have stopped yelling at each and seem to have something going on."

"Yeah, and then we can get some sleep!" Peter added excitedly.

"As can Mary." said Sirius, sounding very final.

James couldn't help it. His interest piqued. "Lily's been talking to Mary about me?" he asked casually, turning to look at the shadow that was his friend.

Sirius nodded, evidently only half-paying attention. "Yeah, she's been-" he cut off, suddenly looking suspicious. "Never mind."

James tried to look pathetic. "Oh, c'mon Padfoot! We're best mates. I helped you with the whipped pudding prank last week. You owe me."

"Sorry, Prongs." Sirius said, sounding a lot like he was grinning. "Confidential information. Besides," he added thoughtfully. "I do believe it was your idea for the whipped pudding."

James shrugged carelessly. "Could have been." He allowed, biting back a smile.

Remus gave a sigh, settling back in his pillows. "I'm going to sleep now." He announced, rolling over to face away from them. "I've got to save up my strength for tomorrow."

It hit James like a lightening bolt. A feeling of horror came over him. "Moony!" he said, shocked. "Tomorrow's the full moon."

Remus appeared to be smiling wryly. "I hadn't noticed!" he exclaimed. "Thank Merlin you're around to remind me."

James didn't find it funny. "I'm not leaving." he said firmly. "You need me."

Remus snorted, shaking his head. "No offence, Prongs." He said just as firmly. "But you're currently in a very high-on-Lily state. I wouldn't trust myself not to beat you to a pulp anyways. You'd be so distracted you'd sit on me thinking I was a chair."

James shook his head quickly. "I've never missed a full moon before." He said. "I'm not starting now."

"James," Remus said wearily, his voice coming out tired. "You need to get away. Besides, I've got Sirius and Peter to protect me. I'm sure Peter would throw himself at me if I tried anything."

The mental image of the rat launching himself at a fully grown werewolf was enough to make them all laugh. James sighed. "Alright." He allowed. "But I'm still going to worry all night."

"Not if you distract yourself." Sirius said slyly. "Tell me James, is there a bed where you're staying?"

James let out a long groan, stuffing a pillow over his head. "Good night, Padfoot." He said.

The Marauders all laughed before settling themselves back into their respective positions and resuming their undisturbed sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was about six in the morning when James realized something was wrong. Not Oh-Merlin-Peter-left-his-disgusting-underwear-lying-around-again wrong, but really wrong.

Like, his chest burned so bad he felt like he was being trampled by a herd of raging Hippogriffs wrong.

Thank Merlin Remus was an early riser.

"Moony?" James tried, his voice tight with the suppressed urge to scream and/or vomit. He turned his head painfully to get a look at his friend.

Buried in a book as usual, by the window. A lot of bloody help he was.

"Moony!" he tried again, wincing as another wrack of pain hit him. "Put down your god damn bloody book and help me!"

This got the boys attention. Raising his eyes slowly to examine James, his face turned to one of quizzical examination. James had to take a moment to realize that his friend didn't seem too worried. "I don't know, James." He said finally, a wry smile lighting his face. "Usually you fake much better to get out of class. Where are the _boils_ this time?"

"I'm not faking!" James protested, flinching as the fire worked its way around his ribs. "Wake up Sirius. He'll tell you. I swear, it's not like that time with the yellow toad and the one eyed-cat - ow!" he complained, swearing colourfully as the pain took up residence in his lungs.

"Relax, Prongs." Remus advised, rolling his eyes before picking back up his book. "I'm sure if you just _ask_ McGonagall, she'll be happy to be rid of you and Sirius for the day. And possibly the rest of her life." He added thoughtfully. "Besides, you have to take off with Lily today. That involves a legitimate reason for cutting class. Problem solved."

James gave an indignant snort, slightly short of breath and definitely sweaty. "Forget Lily." he groaned, closing his eyes. "I'm never going to be able to move again." He didn't miss the sceptical look his friend was giving him, even from behind the book he was reading. "I'm being _serious_, Remus!"

"Who's serious?" Sirius asked, giving a loud yawn somewhere from behind his bed hangings. "Oh. That's right. I am." He said thoughtfully.

James was in so much pain he didn't even bother to throw something at him.

Remus gave a loud sigh from the window. "Sirius, James is sick today." He seemed to be watching with a scrutinizing eye as Sirius poked his head out from behind the bed hangings, clearly checking for any sign of scheming.

But the dark-haired boy merely looked bored. "So?" he asked, stifling yet another yawn. "Can't you just fix him with some of your hocus-pocus or whatever?"

"Is hocus pocus a real spell?" Peter asked, also sticking his head out from his own hangings. "You know, I've always wondered but my mum never said-"

"Hold on." Remus said, his face turning ashen. "He's not faking?"

This was almost too much for James. "Of course I am bloody well not faking!" He announced, promising himself that shaking was most undignified and would definitely not be happening to him. "I _hurt_. I can barely _speak_. And if one of you would just fix me I could be on my way with Lily-"

He was interrupted by a loud banging noise, revealing a very distressed Mary clad in pyjama bottoms and a tank-top. Her hair was in a disarray, her expression borderline traumatized.

It would have been almost comical if James hadn't known he probably looked much, much worse.

Sirius was on his feet in an instant. "Mary?" he demanded, striding over before seizing her arm and doing what looked very much like an examination. "What is it? Where are you hurt?"

Mary was shaking her head profusely, her panic level through the roof. James might have felt sorry for her if he could feel anything without it hurting.

"It's not me." She said quickly, stepping back to look Sirius dead in the eye. "It's Lily."

And just like that, James realized he could still feel something.

**So let me know - what did you think? Any new favourites or changing opinions? Great job with all the reviews last chapter, let's see if we can keep it up!**


	7. Lovesick For You

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from Harry Potter as it is all owned by J.K. Rowling. I'm pretty sure she could own the world if she wanted.**

**A/N:** **Thank-you all for your patience (especially after that cliffhanger!) as I worked to get this one up. I re-wrote the ending too many times to count and it still didn't come out quite as I wanted it to. But the next chapter (last one before the epilogue!) is coming along nicely so don't be too disappointed in the writing quality of this one. Cheers!**

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Luckily, before James had time to just pick up the nearest wand and levitate himself to the girls dorm to find Lily, Remus stepped in.

"Does she have similar symptoms to what James is experiencing?" He asked calmly, talking as if to reassure a frightened rabbit. Mary, who appeared to just have noticed James, nodded her head wildly.

"She's sweating a lot too and has these awful _shaking_ fits." She confirmed, turning her head into Sirius's shoulder. "I don't know if that's what James has, but it looks similar."

"He shakes too." Peter threw in helpfully, ignoring the heated look James gave him.

Just because he was too _ill _to say much, didn't make him _deaf_.

Besides, James Potter didn't shake.

Mary was still obviously beside herself. "I don't know what in Merlin's name is wrong with her." she announced, peeling away from Sirius before starting to pace around their room. "I think she knows though, but she's in too much pain to tell me. I can't- I couldn't-" Mary cut off, pleading with her eyes to have their understanding. "Lily told me not to get Madam Pomfrey. All I could think of was you guys."

Sirius shook his head, looking bewildered. "Well I was convinced he was faking it until about a minute ago, so I'm lost." he decided, turning to look at Remus. "Ideas, Moony?"

Remus was already flipping through a book he appeared to have conjured, a puzzled expression on his face. "It's too much of a coincidence not to have been connected to the love potion." he mused, rifling through pages with fever. "And even if it wasn't, Lily would have had a tough time working out why she so suddenly took to being ill."

James resisted the urge to throw something at his mate. Really. Even his fever-stricken mind had worked that much out.

He watched dazedly as Remus seemed to reach the page he wanted, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. The room seemed to still as he scanned the text, his eyes darting across the lines. James heard Peter suck in a long breath.

Oh, how James wished he could suck in a long breath without feeling the urge to cough himself to death.

"Ah-hah!" Remus exclaimed excitedly, sweeping the book of the desk with a crash and causing Mary to jump a good two feet in the air. "I've found it."

"Oh good." Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "I'm glad. But don't play it so close to the chest, alright?"

Even Sirius's sarcastic demeanour didn't appear to upset Remus's excitement. His friend was practically radiating smugness.

"It's so obvious now," he continued, beginning to pace agitatedly around the room. "I can't believe I didn't see it before…"

"Yes, so are we," Sirius agreed, sounding rather morose. "But we'll forgive you if you'd just come out with it."

"I mean," Remus laughed, sounding positively crazy now. "After seven years of magical education, you think even the most incompetent wizard would understand what's happening right now."

Peter hesitantly raised a hand. "Er, what's incompetent mean?" he asked tentatively.

Sirius cleverly ignored this before turning to Remus, one eyebrow raised. "Moony. If you know how to save loverboy from his own poison, please speak now."

James pretended the casualness of his friend's tone was more to hide his inner pain than his lack of interest now that he knew James was going to be alright.

Remus took a deep breath, visibly inflating. "It was the veritaserum." he announced knowingly, adopting the tone of a professor giving a lecture. "They took the love potion within twenty-four hours of taking the veritaserum. Any first year could tell you that you can't ingest multiple potions within too short of a time frame. They mix bizarrely in your system and can result in various complications. Luckily, unless one of the potions was a poison, there's no chance of death or injury. It will simply modify the original substances slightly."

There was a silence as everyone stared at each other in shock, only punctuated by the faint wheezes coming from James. Remus still had that smug look on his face, while everyone else had a mixture of shock and confusion.

Well, except for Peter. His was purely confusion.

"Let me get this straight," Mary said slowly, her voice uncertain. "because the potion they ingested was coupled with another and might not have been made entirely right in the first place-"

"Snivellus probably had something to do with it." Sirius muttered.

"-Lily and James are ill?" Mary pressed on, fixing Sirius with a reproachful look. Remus nodded, eyes thoughtful.

"The problem with that, besides the obvious fact that they're temporarily ill," he allowed, glancing briefly in James's direction. "is that when the side effects wear off, the second potion they ingested will be much more concentrated in their veins."

"You mean it'll turn them green?" Sirius asked hopefully, his eyes lighting at the prospect of a green James. Remus shook his head, beginning to pace again.

"I have no idea what it will do." Remus admitted, ignoring the incredulous looks he received. "They could very well turn green. But what I do know," he said seriously, stopping to give them all a very stern look, "is that with the potion much more concentrated, the effects will be stronger then ever."

A slow smile spread across Sirius's face. "You mean… they're going to be madly in love? Not just this sort of a little in love?"

Remus nodded solemnly.

Sirius took the opportunity to leap across the room and thump James on the back, grinning ear to ear. "Congratulations, Prongs! You finally get to lay down the charm on the girl of your dreams and the best part is that you can legitimately say _you couldn't help it_!"

If James had the strength to whack him, he would have. Currently, he settled for yelling hoarsely and swearing some more as hot pain lanced through him. Sirius looked immediately apologetic, but didn't stop grinning.

"Sorry." he offered. "I kind of forgot."

James would have loved to have been able to forget.

"It won't work with the plan though." Mary said dejectedly, sitting down on Sirius's bed. "They need to be moved now more then ever, and there's no chance of that." She waved an arm in the direction of an immobile James, biting her lip. Remus frowned again, little wrinkles appearing between his eyes.

"I hadn't thought of that." He said, sounding like it bothered him more then he cared to admit. Sirius, however, looked delighted.

"An impromptu plan!" he announced, clapping his hands sharply. "Right. I'll need six packets of fireworks, my wand, one frog leg, three jelly slugs-"

"Padfoot." Remus said bemusedly, holding up his hand. "We're planning a simple room switch, not a nuclear bomb."

"A nuclear what-a-what?" Sirius asked, cocking his head slightly. Mary turned away to hide her smile.

"Well I think it's simple." Peter put in, surprising them all. "We're going to have to move one of them and lock both in a dorm for a couple days until the potion wears off."

Mary and Remus hid their surprise well. It was only Sirius who goggled, open-mouthed. It was not the most attractive look.

"Wormtail," he whistled, looking amazed. "Did you just have an idea? An actual, quick-thinking, on-topic-"

"Okay!" Remus interrupted, eyeing Peter's confused expression nervously. "Moving on. I think what it really comes down to is who we're going to move. How bad did Lily look, Mary?"

James attempted to tone down his sharp breaths and strain his ears. Unfortunately, this only made the sharp breaths louder.

Mary bit her lip, her eyes darting from James to the others. "Bad." she admitted, her voice shaky. "But not any worse then James."

Remus nodded, taking it all in stride. James couldn't help but be impressed. He hadn't even flinched since this whole thing had started.

Of course, this scenario probably had nothing on how painful turning into a werewolf must be.

"Right," Remus said shortly, his voice firm. "Here's what we'll do…"

And before he knew it, Lily was being levitated into his dorm.

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The good news was, they only managed to whack her head once on the low doorframe. James supposed he ought to be thankful. He had seen what Sirius could do in charms class, and it wasn't pretty.

"Lily?" Mary asked, worrying her lip slightly. "Can you hear me?"

James watched in a sort of panicked daze as they lowered the red-head onto the bed, crowding into a semi-circle around her. A thump was heard followed by a yelp and a 'sorry, my fault!' from Sirius.

It briefly occurred to James that he really ought to be thankful his illness restrained him. He wasn't sure Mary would appreciate him murdering his best mate.

As if on cue, Sirius let out a long whistle, examining Lily with impressed eyes. "She's pulling off a dead-person look pretty well." He announced, leaning forward in an interested manner. "I bet she could sell coffins better than Prongs could have."

Peter immediately assumed a horrified expression. "She's dead?" he gasped, staggering back a step.

James felt his heart contract painfully in his chest for reasons that had nothing to do with his illness. It was a relief to hear Sirius snort loudly before shaking his head in disbelief. Peter still looked confused.

Mary crouched down beside Lily, concernedly taking her hand. "Her eyelids are flickering." Mary whispered, her voice dropping into one appropriate for a sick-room. "That's a good thing, right?"

Remus hesitated only a moment before nodding, his demeanour stiff. "It means that she'll wake up soon."

There was a pause broken only by the sounds of James and Lily's harsh breathing, almost the same in rhythm. James hoped it didn't mean she was in nearly as much pain as he was.

"So I hate to be the one to ruin the party." Sirius said finally, once it was apparent no one else was going to speak. "But if James regains strength anytime soon, I have this awful feeling I may become owl feed."

Remus shook his head as if to clear it before nodding, already reaching to grab his wand. "Sirius is right," he said calmly to everyone's amazement, possibly his own as well. "If they wake up, the effects will just be beginning and they are likely to not be themselves." He paused with his wand in mid-air, stopping as if daring them to judge him for his next words. "Besides, we're going to be late to class."

Sirius let out a long groan, stalking towards the door. "Forget class," he complained, rubbing his eyes. "If I stay in here too long after they wake up I may just need to burn my eyes out."

After a quick squeeze of Lily's hand, Mary stood as well, departing after Sirius. "Don't forget to take their wands and lock the door, Remus." she warned, her tone stern. "If either of them gets out it could be a disaster."

"I will." Remus promised, shooing Peter and Mary out the door.

James could only watch as his mate made good on his word and wonder what the hell he had gotten himself into.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was about four hundred and seventy-six water drips (James had gotten the bed with the leaky roof) later that the fire finally went out. One minute he was praying that a bludger would whack him in the head and put him out of his misery and the next he felt like he had just eaten thirty expresso Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

Or, at least, how he imagined Sirius must have felt after James had dared him to eat thirty that one time.

James sat up immediately, ignoring the slight pounding in his head. He reached reflexively for his wand before realizing with dawning dismay that Remus had taken it. Cursing creatively under his breath, James hopped upright, promising to Merlin that if he ever got his hands on his werewolf friend again, he would cook him in one of Snivellus's potions and-

"James?" a voice croaked, pausing his train of thought instantly. "Is that you?"

Lily.

James closed his eyes, collapsing back onto his bed. How was he going to explain this one?

"Er, yeah." he confirmed, his hand jumping to his hair. "How are you doing?"

He could practically _hear_ Sirius in his head laughing at him. James winced. How are you doing? Really?

"I- my head hurts." Lily admitted, sounding a little surprised. James watched as she rolled over to face him, looking around in confusion. "We weren't drinking again, were we?"

"Lils," James said, mock-hurt in his voice. "Surely you remember our first night together? Even through the vodka haze it was pretty graphic."

He realized too late that it might have been a little bit too early for such things as jokes.

"What?" Lily gasped, sitting upright immediately. "Oh." She swayed strongly for a moment before careening to the side, completely falling off the bed.

James had never been so thankful that he was a skilled chaser.

He was over to her side in three strides, wrapping his arms around her in one swift motion. He felt her stiffen against him before relaxing, her voice muffled against his sleeve.

"So this is how James Potter gets the witches. Muggle heroism instead of using his wand." Lily complained, though James swore she was smiling. He couldn't help but grin himself.

"An ex-best mate of mine took both of our wands, actually." James informed her, leaning back against a nearby bed-post. "He seemed to think we're both a little unstable to be making decisions about staying and leaving."

"Are we?" Lily asked, her voice suddenly unsure. "Unstable?"

Why she chose that exact moment to look up at him, James was uncertain, but suddenly her green eyes were fixed on his and a sudden burning sensation took up residence in his gut.

Just bloody brilliant.

"Of course we're stable." James protested, his voice sounding anything but. "Or at least I am." he added with a sudden smirk. "You, I'm not so sure about."

There was a pause as their eyes connected, James searching her gaze. A familiar heat started in his gut, almost doubled in intensity from usual. He watched dazedly as Lily sucked in a breath, her cheeks flushing slightly. James could pick out every fleck of gold in her eyes.

Lily shivered suddenly, pushing off of him violently. James watched with a raised eyebrow as she rolled to the center of the room, stopping before pushing herself up.

"We should find a way out of here." Lily said by way of explanation, brushing off her jeans as she stood up. James merely rolled back lazily, watching her with mild interest.

"I would agree. Only, if you were listening earlier, they took our wands." James reminded her dryly. A short scowl crossed the red-head's face.

"Mary is never hearing the end of this." she muttered, already tearing apart a nearby pile of bed sheets in what looked like a futile search. "I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions."

"_We're_," James corrected her, shaking his head. "We're perfectly capable of making our own decisions."

Lily paused, holding up a pair of socks with a smirk. "Think what you'd like." She announced, pawing through Sirius's t-shirts with fervour. "Seriously, I feel the exact same as earlier. Whatever the mixing of the two potions is supposed to entail, I missed it."

"I think it skipped me altogether," James put in thoughtfully. "for wizards with less-attractive hair."

This was partially the truth - James really did love his hair. As for the feelings part, well… he was much more apt to avoid ever opening that. Ever.

Lily gave him an incredulous look as she opened a nearby trunk, pulling out a year old pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from Peter's trunk. James watched in amusement as she waggled them in front of his face, her nose scrunched in disgust. "Seriously?" she asked, her voice bordering between impressed and repulsed. James shrugged.

"A man's stomach is never ending." He said wisely, watching with amusement as she went onto his trunk, pulling out quidditch after quidditch magazine.

Lily didn't even bother to look at him this time, merely shaking her head before continuing her search for an escape. James couldn't help but chuckle.

"Just be thankful you didn't find the magazines in _Peter's_ trunk," he intoned gravely, his eyes lighting up. "some of those Playwitch magazines are naughty."

Lily jumped back from the magazines as if she'd been burned, throwing him a reproachful look as he laughed uncontrollably.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

James glowered at the full moon from his perch by the window, wondering how exactly it was that he was sitting locked in a dorm while his best mate became a werewolf. Alone.

Well, James supposed Remus wasn't really alone. He did have Sirius and Peter.

That thought wasn't particularly comforting.

James turned to survey Lily out of the corner of his eye, a dark figure curled up on Remus's bed. She had served as a lovely distraction for the past few hours. He felt his lips quirk as he surveyed her sleeping profile. Her red hair had become a tangled knot, her eyes-

James paused, tilting his head slightly. Her eyes? One certainly closed their eyes when they went to sleep.

If she was dead, he was going to chop Remus _and_ Sirius into bits before putting them in Snivellus's potion.

"Lily?" he whispered hoarsely, trying in vain to steady his heart beat. "Are you awake?"

He swore she was trying not to smile. "No. I can sleep with my eyes open." she informed him, yawning before pulling herself up into a sitting position. "What're you doing up?"

James raised his eyebrows. "I could ask you the same thing." he countered, dodging the subject deftly.

Her lips curved into a smile. "You could." she acknowledged. "But you haven't."

James frowned, settling back into his previous lazy position. "Trying to outsmart a Marauder, Evans?" he asked, disbelief colouring his tone. The red-head shook her head.

"No. But I can tell one is trying to outsmart me." she announced, leaning forward slightly. "With rather poor-planned distractions."

"Oi!" James protested, his tone wounded. "All Marauder distractions are good distractions."

Lily gave him a very self-satisfied look, a smug look on her face. "Case in point."

A silence fell as James looked out at the full moon once more. He wondered if Peter had made good on his promise of throwing himself at their friend if necessary.

Probably not. But Sirius may have just given up and tossed the bugger himself.

"You're thinking about Remus, aren't you?" Lily asked softly.

There was a tick of silence as James stiffened, all thoughts of Peter-the-rat-superhero gone.

"Course I am." he acknowledged cautiously. "It's hard to forget when you're dying of claustrophobia in a room because of your best mate."

Lily gave him a determined look. "James, I know." she paused, appearing to think carefully. "About Remus."

If the notion wasn't so ridiculous, he might have believed her just by the way she had said it. But, as it was, Remus would have never trusted anyone outside of the Marauders with his secret. And certainly if he had, he would have told them.

"That he never puts on matching socks?" James tried. "Yes, it annoys me as well. I try to talk some sense into him, but he just never-"

"James!" Lily interrupted. "I know that Remus is a werewolf."

There was yet another moment of silence as James struggled to come up with something clever to say. "Er- what?" he asked brilliantly. Lily sighed.

"He told me in fifth year," she explained, keeping her eyes on his. "I was having some… issues with Snape."

James bit down hard on his tongue, registering the boiling in his blood. Stupid bloody love potion.

."Remus helped me out." she continued, taking a deep breath. "He told me towards the end of the year. I was always wondering why he came to prefect duty with scratches and cuts. I never asked, but I had a good guess as to what it might be."

James sat perfectly still, trying to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. "He's still a good person." he heard himself say finally. "One of the best I've ever known. He doesn't deserve it. Hell, no one deserves what he goes through."

He watched as her mouth popped open. "I know!" she protested, her hands raised in defence. "I know, James. Remus is an amazing person."

"I was going to get the hair from him, you know." James said randomly, his eyes searching Lily's for her reaction. "The werewolf's hair for the potion. But I never got around to it. I think its because I couldn't bring myself to ask him."

He waited anxiously for the disgust to surface in her eyes and was thankful when the green depths remained clear.

Lily seemed to mull his words over. "I guess there's no chance of us getting the potion done now anyways." she admitted, leaning back against her headboard. "It'll be the first thing I ever fail, mind you."

James couldn't help but grin, shifting to face her completely. "Poor Lilyflower." he said sadly. "You might never graduate."

Lily gave him a mock-scowl before biting her lower lip. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked finally, her hands fidgeting with her hair. James raised an eyebrow.

"Not most of the time." he admitted, leaning back. "But try me anyways."

Lily curled her knees up to her chest. "Do you remember how I said I could get the Virgin's Breath?" she asked, her legs muffling her voice.

James nodded, slightly confused.

"Well," Lily continued. "It was going to be from me."

That brought James up short. Lily Evans had never been kissed?

"What about Diggory?" he demanded, his incredulity gaining. "He seemed like he was in for a good snog."

"James!" Lily protested. "It's not just about a good snog."

"Then what's it about?" James asked, his tone slightly mystified. Lily shook her head, looking thoughtful.

"I guess its about finding the perfect person." she said, unwrapping her arms from her knees hesitantly. "First kisses don't come around every day."

"So." he said, instantly brightening. "Diggory wasn't prince charming after all, huh?"

"I never said he was." Lily said, exasperated.

There was a pause as James took in the new information, his mind spinning.

He eventually grinned, turning to face her. "Our potion was doomed to be a train wreck from the start." he announced, swinging his leg lazily as he spoke. "Even the lavender wouldn't have worked out."

"Oh?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Our house elves." James groaned. "thought it would be a good idea to cut down the enormous bush we had growing at our holiday cottage. My mum was very insistent roses were in according to WitchWeekly." he snorted, shaking his head. Lily looked surprised.

"I thought that bit of the potion would be the easiest to obtain." she informed him, stretching her arm up over her head. "You could have just asked Daniella."

James was momentarily confused. "Daniella _Clearwater_?" He asked, his forehead furrowing. "Why would I ask her?"

Lily stopped to give him a peculiar look. "I just figured now that her and Remus are going out you could have-"

"_What_?" James demanded, throwing himself upwards. Lily immediately covered her mouth, though James swore she was grinning.

"I know! I can't believe you didn't ask her either." she informed him, her mouth quirking. James waved impatiently.

"You know what I meant. Back up to the going out part." he insisted.

"Do you mean to tell me that James Potter didn't know one of his best mates was seeing someone?" Lily asked cheekily. "It's been going on since the start of term, at least."

James frowned as he cast his mind back. He remembered briefly Remus leaving early for Hogsmede, and he had definitely made a bet involving snogging with someone during the quidditch match.

And what was that comment he had made to Sirius?

"_We both know you didn't really go have a good snog with Daniella today_."

And hadn't Remus mentioned something else as well?

"_What makes you think that I don't have relationship problems_?"

Oh sweet Merlin.

"That day," James said frantically, piecing together what felt like an extremely complicated puzzle in his mind. "that we were playing the - er - game," he said, hesitating before checking Lily's expression and continuing. "I asked Remus who had been his first and he looked at you."

Lily smiled, shaking her head. "For supposedly being his best mate, you seem to have missed a lot James." she teased. "I caught them snogging about a week before hand while doing my rounds. It wasn't hard to put two and two together"

James continued to stare speechless at her for another moment. "Remus… is dating Daniella Clearwater?" he asked, trying the sound of it out.

Lily nodded. "Mary knows too, but I doubt she's told Sirius. He's almost as bad as you are. It's like setting off a bomb in a cage of dynamite." she added.

"Oi!" James protested, scowling. "I'm sure I resent that."

Lily merely rolled her eyes, settling back into her covers. "I'm sure you do. Good-night James." she said pointedly, covering a yawn with her hand.

"Good-night, Lily." he said softly, his mind struggling to figure out just how he had become self absorbed enough to have missed Remus dating someone.

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**Please drop me a comment and let me know what you think - I realize the last bit was a little boring to muddle through but the information had to go somewhere! I swear the next chapter will be a little bit more… intense…**


	8. Finally and Forever

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything it may be affiliated with. If I did, I would be in Harry Potter World right now.**

**A/N: Chapter eight has arrived. Last one before the epilogue! One of my personal favourites**

James watched lazily as afternoon sunlight filtered through the dorm window, highlighting various reds in Lily's hair. The girl in question was currently hanging upside down on Sirius's bed, looking either thoughtful or bored out of her mind. James wouldn't have blamed her if it had been the second. Thirty-six hours with no entertainment or wands didn't leave a lot to do.

James sat straight-up, nearly banging his head on his hangings. Had it really been thirty-six hours? Thirty-six hours without any _food_?

He was going to kill Sirius _and_ Remus if he didn't die of starvation first.

"James?" Lily asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Can I ask you something?"

"No, you can't owl me." James responded automatically. Lily merely sighed, sitting up straight.

"I'm being serious." she insisted, meeting his gaze. James frowned.

"Alright." he said slowly, running through a list of possibilities in his head. "Shoot."

He figured she wouldn't really know to ask him a question like 'Have you ever licked chocolate off of a one-eyed hag before?', so he really ought to be alright.

"I was just wondering," Lily began, taking a deep breath. "if you loved me."

Dead silence. James mind was going a million miles an hour, his brain threatening to explode. Had she… did she… "What?" he choked out, his fists knotting in the blankets.

The one-eyed hag might have been better.

Lily's poker face remained unchanged. "You heard me." Lily said simply, a sad smile flitting briefly to her lips. "Do you, James Potter, the biggest git ever to be chaser, love me, Lily Evans, prefect and know-it-all of-"

"I understand the question." James interrupted. "I just don't understand why you would ask it."

Merlin. Why would she ask it? Beads of sweat formed on his palms.

Lily's laugh had a bitter edge to it. "Well, I figure we're both charmed inside a room for Merlin knows how long and that talking about the weather will only get us so far-"

"Nonsense." James muttered, his mind else where. "We were talking about an enraged werewolf only hours ago."

"-so I figured I'd liven it up a bit." Lily finished, giving him an expectant look. " Do you love me?" she repeated, her voice softer.

James could have answered a million different ways. He could have told her he loved her more than life itself. He could have said he thought about her all the time. He could have said he had no idea and that scared him even more. James could have said a lot of things that were true. Instead he went with, "Yes."

He was momentarily pleased to see it threw Lily a bit to receive an answer. "Are you sure?" she asked, biting her lip. "It could just be the potion, you know. I don't want you to think that you do if you don't."

Unexpected anger burst inside of him, hot and strong. He was confessing his love to a girl who casually asked him, then refused to believe him. What in Merlin's name was wrong with him?

Well, to be fair, Sirius had been asking that for years.

"Bloody hell, Lily!" he burst out, satisfied to see her flinch in surprise. "It's not just the love potion. It has never been the love potion. And if you had a pair of eyes in your head, you would be able to see that."

The red-head's eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that." she protested, worrying her lip.

But James wasn't done. "Then how in Merlin's name did you mean it?" he demanded, standing upright to face her. "All these years, you've obviously known, and what did you do about it? You led me around like some sort of show dog. That's all I was to you. A puppy. I don't know how you can just crush hearts like that, Evans and not feel any remorse at all."

"Lily." Lily said, her voice wobbling slightly. "It's Lily. Not Evans."

James couldn't help but laugh harshly. "Right, sorry. My bad, I forgot that you owned me. So Lily then, I have a question for you." He looked directly at her now, a challenge in his eyes. "Where do you think you get off treating me like rubbish and then asking me if I love you?"

"I didn't just ask you to be a prat!" Lily yelled, on her feet as well now. "I didn't ask you to make you suffer, or to laugh at you, or- or to treat you like rubbish." She gave him a push as she spoke, her voice angry. "Clearly you think I'm an awful person, Merlin help me, but there was a reason I asked you James!"

James was torn between shock, anger and amusement all at once. "Really?" he deadpanned, amazed at how neutral his voice sounded with all that was happening in his head. "And why is that, then?"

He had finally appeared to have asked the right question. The red-head positively inflated, her whole body trembling with emotion.

"Because I'm confused!" Lily shouted, her eyes suspiciously bright. "Because I don't know if what I'm feeling- if what I think I know- is what the potion is making me think."

It took a couple seconds for James to understand what she was saying. It took another couple seconds for him to translate it from angry-girl-talk to understandable-boy-language. The final couple seconds of silence while they stood there, both breathing heavily, was for the shock and amazement to wear off.

"You don't mean…" he began. "Lily Evans, are you in love with me?"

"I don't know." she whispered, her whole face crumpling. "I think so. But I can't even trust myself anymore."

"How do you know?" James asked softly, some of the hope leaking into his voice. "That it might not be the potion?"

He could have guessed. But as selfish as it was, he wanted to hear her say it.

"Because I care." Lily admitted quietly, her head in her hands. "About your favourite flower. And when it grows. And if you have enough to eat at dinner and how you did in your latest quidditch match. I don't even _like_ quidditch." she stressed. "And then there's the patronus."

James swore his heart skipped a beat. "The what?" he asked, his voice hoarse. Lily gave him a disbelieving look.

"Please tell me that after seven years of magical education you know what a patronus is, James." she said, laughing shakily. James nodded, waving an impatient hand.

"I don't understand what it has to do with right now though." he said slowly, which was technically not a lie. He had an idea of what it could be, but the chances…

Of course, Lily always defied the chances.

"My patronus," she said carefully, her voice even. "is a-"

"doe." James cut in impatiently. "I still don't really see what this has to do with anything."

"It's not a doe, James!" Lily burst out. Her eyes were a hard green. "It used to be, before it changed." James felt his heart falter and then stop.

"Changed?" James repeated numbly. Lily nodded shortly.

"They say sometimes, in extreme circumstances, a witch or wizard's patronus can change." she whispered, looking down. "If the person has been through an emotional stress or- or-" she cut off, wiping viciously at her eyes.

"My patronus was a doe." she murmured. "But now its a stag. Just like your name. Prongs."

There was a beat of silence as their eyes met, James searching her green ones. They were shining with the innocence of the truth and something else, something he couldn't quite place. It made them more beautiful than ever. And before he knew what he was truly doing, James was kissing her.

It was hesitant at first, his lips barely brushing hers uncertainly. He felt her breath catch before her fingers slowly made their way up to his hair, her face drawing even closer to his. And then he was really kissing her, kissing her how he had always wanted to. His hands slid down to cup her waist, his tongue eagerly searching her mouth. One minute they were standing, the next they were on his bed, his force sending them careening onto the pillows. James could feel her breathing hot on his neck, her soft hands wrapped around his neck. And then-

"Bloody hell!" Sirius complained loudly, standing in the doorway. "My eyes!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Swearing profusely, James jumped to his feet, barely avoiding nailing his head on the four-poster. Next to him, Lily seemed in a similar state of distress.

"Black." she barked, her cheeks flushed. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking?" James couldn't help but note that she was carefully avoiding his eyes, instead choosing to glare at Sirius.

His best mate looked absolutely delighted by the turn of events. "Me, Evans?" he drawled, leaning casually against the door frame. "I'd like to know what changed your mind so much that you laid one on Prongsie."

Unfortunately for James, Sirius still had his wand, which sadly prevented him from giving his best mate boils in a troublesome area.

Lily looked mortified. "Well excuse me. I wasn't aware snogging someone was a crime compared to kidnapping and locking someone in a room for two days against their will." she snarled, her eyes narrowing. Sirius looked amused.

"Avoiding the question, are we?" he challenged, raising an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were almost defensive there, Lilyflower."

Forget the boils. James was going to hang him from the quidditch hoops.

Lily swelled in rage, her green eyes sharp in anger. "You want to know why I was kissing Potter, Black?" Lily demanded, tears welling up. "I'll tell you why." James felt his heart slowly contract as the red-head turned to face him, her expression a mixture of sadness, confusion and anger. "Because a stupid potion made me do it."

"Lily-" James started, stepping forwards to grab her arm. She shook it off as if batting a fly, turning on her heel. He watched with a mixture of disappointment and resent as the door slammed, Lily's footsteps growing fainter by the second.

Sirius let out a long whistle, giving the door an impressed look. "I don't think I've ever seen her that hacked off before, mate." he said, clapping James bracingly on the shoulder. "You must have really done it."

James let out a bitter chuckle, sitting down on the nearest bed. "Thanks, Padfoot." he said sarcastically. "I'm not sure if I could have worked that one out for myself."

Sirius tapped his head knowingly, rolling onto his own bed. "That's why you keep me around."

James let out a long sigh, staring dejectedly at the door. "I should really murder you right now." He informed him, his voice mournful. "I'm pretty sure most of this is all your fault."

Sirius let out a chuckle, relaxing further into his bed spread. "You could murder me." He allowed, amusement colouring his voice. "And probably should, but I took your wand dear Prongsie."

James shot him a rude hand gesture that let his mate know exactly what he thought about that. Sirius laughed outright this time.

"Owl feed." the dark-haired boy mused, shaking his head. "That's what I told them. I said you would turn me into owl feed given the chance and I was right."

"You'll never know unless you give me my wand back." James said hopefully, a mental image of a boil-covered, owl-feed Sirius entering his mind. Sirius merely sighed.

"One day you'll realize you need me around to listen to you whine about your love life, Prongs." Sirius said thoughtfully. "And you will come running to me, Sirius Black - Man Whore of Gryffindor - once you get sick of Wormtail's unhelpful tips and Moony's constant wise advice."

There was a silence as James pondered the exact meaning of Sirius's proclaimed title. Deciding he'd rather not know, he went back to the original point.

"I wonder sometimes if I'm ever going to stop messing up with her, you know?" James said aloud, running a hand through his hair. "Lily, that is. It's like every time I'm _so close_, but I end up messing it up somehow."

Sirius made a non-committal noise, no doubt half-asleep. James had learned any bed had that sort of effect on him. Then, "You haven't messed it up this time yet, Prongs."

James let out an incredulous laugh. "Right." he said dryly, shooting a glance at Sirius. "Because giving the girl you're after a love potion, making her sick, then trying to kiss her is all in the how-to-charm-a-witch handbook."

Sirius gave a long sigh, surprising James by sitting up. "Alright, stop moping. The pity party is up." he announced.

James gave his friend a dark look. "Are you hearing this? Lily hates me. I was saying-"

Sirius made an impatient noise, jumping to his feet. "Prongs, it wasn't a love potion." he said.

It was such a calm, normal tone that James almost missed the meaning. It was like discussing a catastrophic accident in a voice one would use to comment on the weather; it just didn't make sense. James stared openly at his best mate, unable to make words. "Not a love potion?" he echoed, testing the words out.

Sirius nodded wisely, taking a seat beside him. "Not a love potion." he confirmed, kicking his feet out lazily in front of him. "Now are you going to buck up and listen for five minutes or will I need to tie you up with Stringmints?"

"You hate Stringmints." James commented, only half-paying attention. "They made you sick two summers ago."

Sirius frowned thoughtfully. "I'm going to take that as a yes, you will listen." he informed him, settling back into a more comfortable position. "Where to begin? Ah yes," he said, a more worried tone colouring his voice. "getting the potion. You see, Slughorn's stores aren't the most easy-to-understand and when one is failing potions, it makes it even more difficult."

James identified the apologetic tone almost immediately. His eyes became saucers. "You mean you bloody well fed me the wrong potion?" he demanded, his voice incredulous. "Padfoot! You could have killed me!"

"I didn't _know_ it was the wrong potion!" Sirius protested, holding his hands up in a defensive gesture. "I just had an _inkling_ it might have been. It wasn't green or anything. I wasn't trying to poison you."

"Oh, good." James said dryly. "I was worried for a moment I would die knowing my best mate had murdered me. Now that I know it was accidental, I can rest in peace."

"It wasn't really poison." Sirius said defensively, crossing his arms. "And if you'd shut up and let me finish I could explain to you what it was."

James shook his head wearily, sighing. "Go for it." he offered.

This seemed to be enough for Sirius. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted with false accusations," he continued, shooting a glare at James. "Mary and I were - er- working on the potions assignment the other day in the library."

James thought of about a million snide comments to drop in here but for his own sanity decided against it. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what his best mate defined as 'working' anyways. Sirius pressed on.

"Anyways, we were about half way through the first page when we realized that none of your symptoms matched any of the potions. I mean, yeah, you and Evans are all lovey-dovey and stuff, but the side-effects of the potion were some serious stuff. Like, kill-myself-if-I'm-not-near-you stuff." Sirius said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "So I asked Mary if Lily had tried to off herself lately because I was pretty sure you hadn't and she said no." Sirius said, looking thoughtful.

James tried extremely hard to be offended at the fact that his best mate wasn't a hundred percent sure whether he was suicidal or not and failed. Sirius hardly noticed his own schedule most days.

"We looked through some more books and found a potion that matched yours. It's called a Sense Heightener." Sirius said, looking pleased at himself for remembering the name. "Mary reckons that the sharpened vision and smell would make more sense that way. The effects seem stronger towards Lily because she's taken some as well."

James watched as Sirius placed his hands behind his head, looking like he had finished a speech to the Minister of Magic. James couldn't help but think of the one muggle movie he had seen and the object that they had used - a bomb? Yes, that was it. That was what Sirius had dropped on him. A bomb.

"So I'm not in love with her?" he blurted out, a million different thoughts running through his head.

Sirius gave a chuckle, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not so sure about that one, Prongs." he admitted. "But not because of a potion."

James identified one of the emotions he was feeling as relief.

"What about Lily?" he asked, more softly this time. "Does she know?"

It was odd to have Sirius give him a you're-an-idiot look. He found it hurt more then it did with Moony. "James." Sirius said slowly, making his words clear and precise. "I let the girl out two minutes ago. Unless she's telepathic, I doubt it."

There was a moment of silence as James pondered this, the blood pumping inside of him. "What do I do?" he asked, eyeing Sirius uncertainly.

His best mate broke into a grin, thumping James on the back. "Now you go after her."

James didn't need to be told twice.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Lily!" James hollered, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Lily!" He swore softly as the flash of red he had been tailing disappeared into the Great Hall. He had to grudgingly admit that she was smart - it was lunch hour, which meant that the room would be packed. Lily would be much more difficult to locate.

Thank Merlin nothing was impossible for a Marauder.

Pulling out his map, James scanned for the dot labelled Lily Evans. Unsurprisingly, she was in the least likely spot he would expect her - crammed in among the Slytherins.

"James!" a voice called.

James whirled around, quickly stuffing the map back into his pocket as he looked for the owner. A grinning Remus stood in front of him, an eyebrow quirked.

"I saw that, Prongs." he chided, bemused. "Anyone else and you could have-"

BAM. James felt his fist connect with the side of the boy's head. Remus looked stunned.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" he demanded, touching the wound tenderly. "I've been beat up enough last night, thanks."

"You," James said very slowly, ignoring his words deftly. "will never play the hero again if I can help, yeah?"

Remus looked dumbfounded. "I-"

"And," James said shortly, cutting him off effectively. "you will always tell me if you're seeing someone. Merlin, even if you've thought about _fancying_ someone."

A look of guilt flashed across the boy's face. "How did you-"

"Excellent." James said cheerfully, clapping his mate on the shoulder. "Nice talking to you. We'll catch up later, alright?"

"James!" Remus protested, his voice disappearing as James made his way into the great hall. "What's going on?"

James chuckled as the door closed behind him, scanning the Slytherin table. Lily had been smart going there - the number of red-heads was unbelievable compared to the other tables - but she had underestimated him.

James hadn't spent all of Charms staring at her only to be outsmarted now.

"Oi, Evans!" he called, causing some of the nearby students to stop and listen. "Lily!"

The hall was definitely quieting. Seized by an impulse, he strode over to the Slytherin table, leaping up onto it. The crash of dishes and screams of some of the girls were enough to have all eyes on him.

He found he didn't care one bit.

The world had vanished to one set of green-eyes, staring silently back at him.

"Lily." he said finally. "I understand if you hate me. I get it if you want to throw something at me. Merlin, feel free to after this is over. But first you have to listen to me."

Her eyes said quite pointedly that she really didn't have a choice. James ploughed on, barely aware of his voice ringing clear off the walls.

"I love you, Lily Evans." he announced. "I really do. And before you tell me that I'm just saying that because I'm an idiot, or because I'm under a potion, I can prove to you that you're wrong."

She looked skeptical. James backtracked.

"Alright." he relented. "Maybe I can't prove that I'm not an idiot, because I am one. But the potion Sirius gave us was a sense heightener, not a love potion. So you can't say that I'm not in love with you, because these past few weeks have been the best of my life and I-" He paused, hand jumping to his hair. "Lily, will you just give me a chance?"

The Great Hall was silent. Not one student touched their plate, their eyes glued to the unfolding drama. Dumbledore was leaning forward in his seat, eyes twinkling.

James swallowed thickly. A nervous tide had built up inside of him.

"Come on, Evans." a voice called. "You heard the lad! Give him a chance."

Lily broke into a grin. James felt relief course through him.

"James." she said slowly, standing up. "Would you do me the honor of going with me to Hogsmede?"

James didn't bother answering. Instead, he scooped her up into his arms and kissed her.

Right there. On the table. In front of the whole hall.

It was the best moment of his entire life.

He was pretty sure it was Mary that started the applause, but it shortly became a full-scale standing ovation. Somewhere, Sirius was claiming credit over the noise.

James really did have to remember to have words with him later.

"So." he said finally, pulling back to whisper in Lily's ear over the noise. "We're doing this for real?"

"James." Lily said cheekily. "It's always been for real. We just didn't know it."

"Right you are, love." He agreed, leaning in to kiss her again. "Right you are."

**A/N: Make sure to stay tuned for the epilogue - hopefully it'll be up by mid January! Please review. It would make my entire 2012 year if you left your favourite quote from Veritaserum Shots :)**


	9. Epilogue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. It all belongs to the talented J.K. Rowling._

_A/N: And here we reach the finale! Thank-you to anyone who has stuck with me until the end. You are all amazing._

Steam rose from the chimneys in the distance as six figures struggled through the wind towards Hogsmede, clutching their scarves tightly. It was unusually cold for a spring morning, and the students found themselves with rosy cheeks after a minute of having left Hogwarts.

James didn't mind. Lily looked adorable in red.

"I thought spring was supposed to be _about_ the warm weather." Mary complained, her voice muffled as she pulled her cloak more securely around her face. "Merlin! How am I ever going to get a tan when I can't show any skin without it freezing off?"

"Don't be afraid to try tanning indoors, love." Sirius said wisely. "Especially with me around. Preferably showing great amounts of skin as well."

Daniella looked horrified. Remus shot Sirius an exasperated look.

"Must you, Padfoot?" he asked wearily, slipping an arm around his girlfriend's waist. "Daniella's not used to you yet."

"_I'm _not used to you yet, either." Lily cut in, wrinkling her nose. "And it's been close to seven years now."

"Growing fonder ever day of me, I see." Sirius pronounced, winking at her. "Wait a couple years and Mary will have to fend you off with a stick."

Mary let out a very derisive snort.

"Who says I'm staying around?" she asked. "Amos Diggory is looking mighty fine these days." Her voice was teasing, but Sirius stiffened.

The boy growled low in his throat. "Diggory will stay away if he knows what's good for him." he said firmly. "And that goes for the lot of you too!"

He paused a moment to glare at Peter, as if at any given second the small boy was likely to make a sudden dash and throw himself at Mary. Peter gulped audibly.

"My knight in shining armour." Mary sighed.

James couldn't help but smirk. "Quite literally." he agreed. "You should have seen what he was doing with a pie in one of those suits in the corridor the other day-"

"Alright!" Sirius cut in hastily, reaching over to cover his girlfriend's ears. "Mary and I are off to anywhere _but_ Madam Pudifoot's. We hate to leave so soon, but we have a pressing engagement."

Scooping his girlfriend up firmly in his arms, Sirius tossed her over his back and strode in the opposite direction. James could hear the mix of Mary's protests and laughter.

Remus shook his head, whistling. "He does love his dramatic exits." he said.

"Almost as much as he loved that pie he stole." James agreed.

"I hope he remembers to buy Mary corn." Lily put in, looking after them as well. "She gets so grumpy without it."

"They seem sweet." Daniella said, surprising them all. She wasn't much for talking, so it was rare that she contributed.

Remus appeared to have not noticed anything out of the ordinary. "Yes, for some reason we manage to put up with them both anyways." he said dryly, shaking his head. "Someone will have to remind me why some day."

"I'm in it for the shower ballads." James put in helpfully. "They're really quite catchy."

Remus looked amused. "Before you scare Daniella off for life, I'm going to steal her away for a butterbeer. If that's alright with you?" he asked, turning to face her.

Daniella went a deep crimson. "Of course." she said happily, already seizing his hand enthusiastically before starting off in the other direction.

Peter hovered awkwardly for a moment before clearing his throat. "Er- I'm going to be…elsewhere." he said vaguely, already turning to scamper away. James turned to raise his eyebrows at Lily.

"What horrible mates we have." he commented disappointedly. "What if a snowstorm blinded us both and we couldn't find our way back to the castle?"

Lily appeared to be suppressing a smile. "Isn't it likely that they would be blinded too?" she said reasonably.

James thought about this for a moment. "Remus wouldn't." he said. "He'd have some state-of-the-art shield charm already activated."

"And I wouldn't?" Lily asked, her mouth quirking. "I'm definitely not saving you with my shield charm now."

"But then who would you drag to Flourish and Blotts?" James sighed, shaking his head. "Mary is already tragically dead, as am I and Peter. Sirius might make it, but I'm sure he'd rather off himself than go with you to a book shop in the first place-"

"James!" Lily interrupted, her voice amused. "You're rambling."

"First sign of a genius is rambling." James put in firmly. Lily's lips quirked.

"First sign of nerves is rambling and sweaty palms." she said softly, reaching to pull his hands into her own. "And look who's got both."

"Oi." James protested, frowning. "I have mittens on. You can't tell either way."

Lily merely smiled. "That sounds suspiciously like a Marauder plan." she whispered. James felt his breath catch as she moved in closer, her nose brushing his. He felt his eyes flicker shut, his breathing hitching-

And she was gone. His eyes flying open, he saw the banner of red hair weaving its way through the crowd, a teasing laugh rising over the bustle of students. James broke into a grin.

He wondered how in Merlin's name it was that he loved this girl.

_A/N: Please review! I would love to hear your favourite overall quotes, scenes, characters, moments, etc. Just click the little button..._


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